An assistant to Larry Jones said April 20 the trainer had shown improvement from injuries he sustained the previous day when thrown from a horse at Delaware Park.
Although he had yet to visit Jones on Easter Sunday but was planning to see him later in the day, assistant Corey York said reports he received from Jones' wife and assistant, Cindy, were that the "doctors were amazed at how much he has improved since yesterday."
York said the injury occurred when a 2-year-old Jones was aboard during morning training hours became spooked and threw Jones, who landed on his head. When transported to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., doctors detected bleeding on his brain and diagnosed him with two broken ribs and a bruised lung.
As of mid-afternoon April 20, York said he was told the bleeding on the brain had been reduced by half and that surgery was not going to be necessary to relieve the pressure.
York said Cindy Jones told him her husband was alert and responsive and that he was no longer on any medical equipment, except an IV. He also said it was possible Jones would be moved out of the intensive care unit to another location within the hospital as early as Monday.
Although the accident was serious, York said it could have been worse had Jones not been wearing a helmet.
Jones, 57, is a native of Kentucky who was one of the top trainers on the Midwest circuit being thrust into the national limelight with the success of horses such as Horse of the Year Havre de Grace and Hard Spun and Eight Belles, both of whom ran second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).