Van Dyke released from hospital with stitches but no broken bones

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Drayden Van Dyke, injured in an accident in the Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on Monday, was released from Scripps La Jolla Hospital on Tuesday after being kept overnight for observation, his agent, Brad Pegram, said Tuesday morning.

Van Dyke was thrown from odds-on favorite Eight Rings about 150 yards into the race when his mount suddenly veered toward the inner rail in the seven-furlong chute. Van Dyke went down in front of Storm the Court, who was ridden by Flavien Prat.

Pegram said Van Dyke needed stitches to close cuts around an eye and on an arm, but otherwise was fine.

“Got lucky there,” Pegram said. “He’s got a couple of cuts above and below an eye and on his arm.”

X-rays were negative, “but he did get cut up,” Pegram said.

Van Dyke was not scheduled to ride this week. Pegram said he’d see how Van Dyke progresses before they decide when he’ll return to action. Los Alamitos opens Friday. Santa Anita’s fall meeting opens Sept. 27.

Prat was dislodged from Storm the Court but emerged from the incident unscathed and rode the next race, the final race of the meet. He won it, putting an exclamation point on a season in which he led the standings with 42 victories.

Van Dyke, the leading rider in the summer of 2018, finished second with 32 wins. Prat has won or tied for the lead three of the last four summers here.

Both Eight Rings, who is trained by Bob Baffert, and Storm the Court, who is trained by Peter Eurton, were reported by their trainers to be in good condition at the barn following the incident.

The Futurity was won in a 35-1 upset by Nucky, who led a one-two finish in the race for trainer Peter Miller. Nucky, under Norberto Arroyo Jr., got a Beyer Speed Figure of 68 after running seven furlongs on the fast main track in 1:25.52, with a final furlong in 14.43 seconds. The 68 is the lowest winning figure in the Futurity since Beyers were first published in 1991.

Miller finished second in the trainers’ standings with 21 wins, three behind Doug O’Neill. It was the fifth summer season title for O’Neill, who tied his own Del Mar record with a five-win day on July 31.

– additional reporting by Brad Free