Jockey Francisco Torres underwent successful surgery to fuse a fractured C-6 vertebra in his spine Thursday night in New Orleans, according to his agent, Derek Ducoing.

Torres fractured the vertebra and his tailbone as a consequence of a bad spill in race 6 Thursday at Fair Grounds. Torres's mount, Aaron of Goshen, broke down before the half-mile pole and was struck by a trailing horse, Zarby's Derby Day. It's unclear whether Torres also was struck by the trailing horse, whose jockey, Marcelino Pedroza, also went down but reportedly did not sustain serious injury.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Paddys Day has been the dominant Arabian racehorse in the United States over the last two years, winning stakes at diverse venues such as Arapahoe Park, Churchill Downs, Delaware Park, Lone Star Park, and Sam Houston.

What’s missing is a win at Santa Anita. Last April, Paddys Day was second at 4-5 in the first running of the $100,000 Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Stakes. Paddys Day is back at Santa Anita for the same race Saturday, the last on an 11-race program.

Victor Espinoza will ride Paddys Day, his first mount on an Arabian.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The two trainers who have accounted for five of the last eight winners of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby will start a majority of the field in the $1 million race April 8.

Bob Baffert, who has won the race a record seven times, will have three runners – American Anthem, Reach the World, and West Coast. Baffert won the race most recently in 2015 with Dortmund.

Doug O’Neill, who won consecutive runnings with I’ll Have Another and Goldencents in 2012 and 2013, will have four starters – Iliad, Milton Freewater, So Conflated, and Term of Art.

El Areeb, a 3-year-old with two Grade 3 stakes wins this year, came out of his Wednesday workout at Laurel Park with an injury to his right knee and is off the Kentucky Derby trail, trainer Cal Lynch said Thursday.

El Areeb, who was pointing to the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 8, will undergo surgery at New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania and will be out of action approximately six months, Lynch said. Lynch said the surgery will be performed by veterinarian Dean Richardson, who is currently attending a conference in Hong Kong.

Trainer Ron Moquett said Tuesday he has filed an appeal to the Arkansas Racing Commission concerning the results of the $150,000 Purple Martin Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn. Our Majesty, trained by Moquett, finished first by 1 1/2 lengths but was disqualified and placed fourth by the board of stewards for an incident on the backstretch. The date for the hearing has not been set, a representative of the commission said Wednesday.

Moquett said there were a couple of reasons to appeal the disqualification.

There are eight 3-year-old fillies entered for the Fair Grounds Oaks on Saturday, but no more than seven will start. Trainer Mark Casse entered both Corporate Queen and Summer Luck but said via text message Wednesday that only Corporate Queen will start.

Corporate Queen has raced only twice, winning a Laurel Park maiden race in her debut and most recently finishing a good second March 10 in a first-level, seven-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream.

Brian Hernandez Jr. launched his career as a professional jockey in 2003, and last year, finishing 12th aboard Tom’s Ready, he got his first mount in the Kentucky Derby. For 14 years, Hernandez would have jumped at the chance to ride any horse in the Derby, but this year, he is on the verge of having to choose between two of North America’s leading 3-year-olds.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Racing Festival of the South is just around the corner, and Oaklawn leading trainer Steve Asmussen had some of the barn’s prospects for the series out for works Monday. The festival features seven major stakes over the final three dates of the meet, culminating with the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 15.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The richest race on the Florida Derby undercard is the Grade 2, $300,000 Honey Fox Stakes, where Celestine will seek to repeat her 3 1/4-length victory from a year ago in the one-mile turf race for fillies and mares.

Celestine made a smashing 5-year-old debut, wiring the field in the Sand Springs Stakes here on March 4. That was her first start since going through the sales ring last November, being purchased by Moyglare Stud, and being turned over to trainer Christophe Clement.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Miss Sky Warrior, who won the Grade 2 Davona Dale here on March 4 for her fourth consecutive victory, skipped the Gulfstream Oaks, to be run here on Saturday, and instead will run in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle at Aqueduct on April 8.

Trainer Kelly Breen said the decision to run in the Gazelle enables Miss Sky Warrior to return to the track where last fall she won the Grade 2 Demoiselle at 1 1/8 miles, the same distance as the Gazelle. She won that race after winning the Grade 3 Tempted going a mile over Aqueduct’s main track.