Jockeys Loveberry, Lopez on the mend

Jockey Jareth Loveberry apparently escaped serious injury when unseated from his mount, Monsieur Candy, before the sixth race Saturday.

The field had assembled behind the starting gate when Monsieur Candy became agitated, rearing straight up and twisting, Loveberry said in a Sunday text message. Fearing that the horse was about to flip, Loveberry “went to get away from him,” and after coming out of the saddle, crashed into the inner rail, hitting his hip and forearm.

A series of scans looking for acute injury came back clean, Loveberry said, and while he was off his mounts Sunday, Loveberry said he hopes to ride on Thursday’s card.

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Meanwhile, fellow jockey Paco Lopez underwent successful surgery Feb. 19 to stabilize his broken left ankle, according to his agent, Jose Garcia. Lopez was injured when his mount clipped heels and fell in a race on Feb. 7.

On Sept. 23, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority suspended Lopez six months for whip violations. After that, Lopez relocated to Louisiana, which has resisted falling under HISA’s jurisdiction.

◗ The Louisiana-bred Tussling Charlie could be favored to win Thursday’s nominally featured eighth race, an open first-level turf sprint allowance. Tussling Charlie has been racing on dirt this winter at Delta Downs but has a 3-1-2 record from seven Fair Grounds grass starts. His trainer, Lee Thomas, is having by far his worst Fair Grounds meet since 2015-16, having saddled just one winner from 35 runners.

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