Tony Schiro, a 69-year-old owner, sustained a broken femur and possible head injuries after a runaway horse struck him Saturday, June 25, at Emerald Downs.
Prior to the third race, while heading up the ramp that connects the paddock to the racetrack, Wiley Witch and Cahill’s Ride reared up and unseated their jockeys. The 3-year-old fillies then veered left and ran full speed up the horse path adjacent to the track, all the way to the stable area some 200 yards away. Cahill's Ride collided with Shiro in the stable area.
Schiro was taken by ambulance to Auburn Regional Medical Center and later air lifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Wiley Witch, who arrived in the stables ahead of Cahill’s Ride, sustained multiple injuries after colliding with a tree and was euthanized.
A.L. Gutierrez, the jockey thrown off Cahill’s Ride, escaped injury, while Leonel Camacho-Flores, the jockey on Wiley Witch, was taken to Auburn Regional Medical Center, where he was released after treatment for superficial scrapes and abrasions.
Cahill’s Ride sustained only minor injuries and was back in the barn of trainer Dan Markle.