Kellenberger fractures collarbone in spill
Apprentice jockey Kody Kellenberger fractured his collarbone, but two other jockeys who went down in the ninth race Thursday at Fair Grounds escaped serious injury.
Kellenberger was riding Floatie in the low-level dirt claiming race when his mount fell after crossing the finish line in second. Sarah Ann’s Pointe, ridden by Joel Dominguez, ran into her downed rival and also fell just past the wire.
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Kellenberger, according to his agent, Jerry Bourque, was diagnosed with a fractured clavicle and released Thursday night from a local hospital. The injury won’t require surgery to heal. Dominguez, agent Don Simington said, complained of pain in his lower back but X-rays revealed no fractures and he, too, was released Thursday night from the hospital.
Floatie, though she appeared to break down, got back on her feet and walked off the track. Sarah Ann’s Point also regained her feet, walked into a horse ambulance, and was vanned off the course.
About 20 yards behind the spill past the wire, Red River Chase, in a totally unrelated incident, broke down before the finish. Jockey Robby Albarado quickly got to his feet and appeared to have escaped injury.
Jockeys Martin Pedroza, Eddie Martin, and Edgar Morales all were injured earlier this meet after their mounts suffered injuries while racing through the homestretch in Fair Grounds dirt races.
Turf feature planned
There’s fog, no rain, in the weekend forecast for New Orleans, but trainers entered for the featured eighth race Sunday as though it could be rained from turf onto dirt. Meteorologically it seems unlikely that the four main-track-only entrants will race, leaving a likely field of seven for this second-level allowance with a $40,000 claiming option carded for about 1 1/16 miles.
Still, the race is competitive and none of the seven turf-intended entrants are throwouts, although front-running Lusitano’s job might be to ensure a solid pace for his stablemate Sharp Prospect. Grade 3 stakes-droppers Honovi and Patriot Drive would benefit from a quick, contested pace as much as Sharp Prospect, while Credit Swap is set to make his first start since finishing second and third in four age-restricted turf stakes as a 3-year-old of 2019.
◗ Monomoy Girl, champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, continued working toward a start in 2020 when she breezed a half-mile in 51.20 on Friday at Fair Grounds. Trained by Brad Cox, Monomoy Girl missed the entire 2019 season but now has posted three workouts over the last three weeks.
◗ Jack Gilligan, who suffered facial fractures and a broken collarbone in a January spill, returned to race riding Wednesday at Fair Grounds.