Jockey John Velazquez released from hospital

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Jockeys' Guild says John Velazquez (veh-LAHZ'-kehz) is out of the hospital after breaking his right collarbone in a spill at Churchill Downs.

A news release says Velazquez was released from a Louisville hospital Tuesday and was planning to return to his home in New York.

Velazquez was injured Saturday after his mount, Mr. Producer, broke down. The jockey was thrown forward and kicked while on the ground by a trailing horse. Mr. Producer was euthanized.

Doctors say Velazquez sustained a ``traumatic blow'' to his kidney, which they estimate will heal on its own over the next two weeks. No further estimate of his recovery time will be made until he meets with doctors in New York.

Velazquez, who rode Union Rags to victory in the Belmont Stakes on June 9, will go into the racing Hall of Fame in August. He is based in New York and was at Churchill to ride Wise Dan in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap. The horse finished second before Velazquez was hurt in the ninth race.

He is chairman of the Jockeys' Guild, which represents riders in the U.S.