Jockey Sorenson Injures Neck in Fall

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Veteran jockey Danny Sorenson, 45, suffered a fracture at the base of his neck when his mount, Kifissos, broke down and fell past midstretch in Thursday's seventh race at Santa Anita.

"The injury is to the clay shoulder of the C3 vertebrae, but it has nothing to do with the shoulder itself," explained Lynn Ingram, Director of Business Development at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. "It's a chip on the vertebrae of the neck, called a spinous process. In layman's terms, it's the part of the bone that supports the base of the head."

Sorenson, a native of Seattle who had one win from 74 mounts with four seconds and 10 thirds through Thursday, was scheduled to see Dr. James Tibone on Friday for further evaluation.

"We were at the hospital (Arcadia Methodist) until about 8 o'clock last night," said Sorenson's agent, Paige Schvaneveldt. "Right now, it doesn't look like he'll require surgery, but he's in a lot of pain and we should know more after he's examined by Dr. Tibone."

Trainer Frank Monteleone, a long-time friend of Sorenson's, said he spoke with the jockey by phone at his Arcadia home early Friday morning.

"He was unconscious after he hit the ground," Monteleone said, "and Danny thought that being unconscious might have saved him from serious injury, because being Danny, he'd want to get up and fight everybody, the ambulance driver, the paramedics, but he was unconscious and didn't move. He said, 'I've never hit that hard in my whole life.' He said he was in a lot of pain and may have some cracked ribs.

"He told me he's been hurt many times, but this was as sore as he's ever felt."

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