Jockey in Aqueduct spill stable, but still on ventilator in ICU

Apprentice Jason Gracia was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on Monday, two days after suffering multiple fractures in a spill at Aqueduct.

Gracia did open his eyes a couple of times Monday morning, according to his agent, Jorge Velasquez, but the 28-year-old jockey still needs a ventilator to help him breathe. Gracia suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a hairline fracture of his neck during the running of the third race, in which his mount, Ryan and Jack, fell and threw Gracia to the ground.

Velasquez said Monday that doctors had still not decided whether Gracia would need surgery to repair the fracture in his neck.

“He’s still in ICU, but he’s responding little bit little,” Velasquez said. “He’s off sedation, he starting to wake up now.”