Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who was involved in a spill when his mount suffered an apparent heart attack in the second race on Sept. 3 at Saratoga, was awaiting the opinion of a specialist at Albany Medical Center a day later to determine whether a suspected vertebrae fracture was a new injury or an old one.
Doctors at Saratoga Hospital initially gave Desormeaux the green light to continue riding on the evening of Sept. 3, when he underwent x-rays. But an hour later, the Hall of Fame jockey updated his personal Facebook status by writing: “New results. CAT scan results broken c7.”
Desormeaux later updated his Facebook page again to say: "Dr. says if things go as planned, I can return to riding in three weeks, Sept. 25."
On the morning of Sept. 4, Desormeaux’s agent Mike Sellito said doctors at Saratoga Hospital had sent the scans to Albany Medical Center but sent the rider home with a neck brace on the evening of Sept. 3.
“He’s at home, he never went to Albany,” Sellito said. “He’s just waiting to hear what the doctor from Albany has to say. They’re maybe thinking it was an old fracture or it could be a new one. We’re not 100% sure, we’re just waiting to hear from this doctor.”
According to Sellito, Desormeaux wasn’t in pain.
“He’s walking around perfect,” the agent said.
Desormeaux’s mount, a 2-year-old daughter of Forestry named Forest Whip, was making her second start for trainer Bill Mott and owners Lakland Farm and J.W. Singer. Her body was removed from the track via equine ambulance.