Jockey paralyzed in fall at Golden Gate Fields
September 15, 2010ALBANY, Calif. (AP) - The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting a 24-year-old jockey has been paralyzed from the waist down following a fall during a race at a Northern California track.
Golden Gate Fields track physician David Seftel tells the newspaper that jockey Michael Martinez remained in critical, but stable condition Tuesday at an Oakland hospital.
Martinez's spinal cord was severed by three shattered vertebrae Sunday when the horse he was riding, Fair 'n Warmer, stumbled and fell on top of the dismounted jockey.
Seftel says the accident was the worst he had seen during his decade at Golden Gate Fields.
Martinez, a Panama native who ranks No. 13 in North America with 168 career victories, also suffered a severe head injury and bleeding in his lungs.