Horse Racing: Four Starzz Lefty’s fall sends 3 to hospital at Meadowland racetrack
The second race at the Meadowland racetrack was fraught with injuries as 6 drivers crashed into each other and 3 were taken to the hospital following a spill. The crash occurred after Four Starzz Lefty tumbled to the ground taking down driver George Brennan. "I could feel my horse getting rough-gaited, and then he just went down," said Brennan after the accident. Drivers Daniel Dube, Brian Sears, Eric Goodell, Ron Pierce and Richard Silverman followed suit, piling up on the racetrack while the crowd watched in horror.
Richie Silverman, aged 45, was most seriously hurt. He broke his ankle and suffered a severe concussion. On his way to hospital, Silverman suffered seizures but there was no evidence of internal bleeding in his scans. Daniel Dube suffered from a fractured vertebrae and wrist. Dube and Silverman were immediately hospitalized at Hackensack University Medical Center where they remained awaiting recovery.
Brennan and Goodell escaped relatively unscathed and did not need to be hospitalized. Both returned to their drive but later opted out of their remaining drives as a precaution. Goodell nabbed his 4,000th win before retiring his drives for the day, coming in second place behind Answer the Bell.
Driver Ron Pierce went to the hospital complaining about a sore shoulder and for an x-ray which came up negative. Brian Sears won the third race but dropped out of his remaining drives going to the hospital to be treated for a severe cut and swelling of his left arm. By Saturday, Pierce was cleared to take to the sulkies again.
Richie Silverman’s condition was reported as stable but he remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His trainer and father, Terry Silverman said that Richie’s CT-Scans were negative. Richie Silverman was scheduled for 10 drives Friday evening which he said he would “hate to miss out on.”
Daniel Dube, 41, suffered from a concussion and said that he couldn’t remember anything about his accident. Owing to the nature of his injuries Dube said that he couldn’t move much at the time.
The equestrian sport is not without its risks. There have been countless injuries and even deaths on the track over the years, yet enthusiasm for the sport stands undiminished. The recent accidents put the issue in the spotlight once again.
Anna Waller, who co-authored a four year study of jockey injuries, told the press that "For every 1,000 jockeys you have riding, over 600 will have medically treated injuries”. Over the course of four years the study recorded 6,545 jockey injuries, Waller further added that those weren’t just minor incidents as twenty percent of those were serious neck and head injuries. Since 1950 almost a hundred Jockeys have died on the field.
The riders involved in the Meadowland incident were lucky, and all have escaped with their lives, and no permanent injuries. Silverman and Dube expressed their desire to return to the track despite the severity of their injuries.
None of the six horses involved in the accident were seriously injured, according to reports from the track. The first to fall, Four Starzz Lefty was subjected to severe lacerations. Native Run had minor contusions, while keystone Neptune had to be treated for a deep cut on his front leg. The other horses did not sustain significant injuries. All six horses are expected to return to the track given they could qualify again.
Mysoontobe (driver E Miller, trainer A Miller) took first place in Friday’s 2nd race of the day, followed by Shark Mcgwire (driver Bier, trainer Startt) in second place and Majik Master (driver & trainer Simmons) in third place. Gold like U (driver Buter, trainer Stoltzfus) was the only other horse to finish the race in wake of the accident. Meadowland track hosted 11 other races for a total of 12 on the day, all of which reached their conclusion without any incident.
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