Jockeys Injured at Louisiana Downs

A horrific spill in the 9th and final race at Louisiana Downs on August 23rd has left a couple of riders out of action for several weeks.

The incident occurred near the far turn when Haran took a bad step and broke down under Pat Valenzuela. He was racing on the pace in the maiden turf route, and it set off a chain reaction as Get The Prize (Francisco Torres) fell over the stricken horse. Brazos Cat (Lonnie Meche), Invisible Force ( E J Perrodin), and Heat Pump (Rico Flores) also went down.

Lonnie Meche at Louisiana Downs

Haran had to be put down, but the other horses appeared to escape serious.

Lonnie Meche took the worst of it with a cracked collarbone, fractured wrist, and injured ankle. He is expected to miss 5-6 weeks.

Rico Flores has an ankle fracture and could be out of action for 3-4 weeks.

Francisco Torres and Patrick Valenzuela are both sore but did not have any broken bones. ‘Cisco and PVal are day-to-day and could be back in the saddle as early as August 27th.

Veteran rider E J Perrodin luckily walked away from the scene and is expected to resume riding next week.

Image: Stacy Edwards