Jockey Jermaine Bridgmohan was cleared to ride by doctors at Albany Medical Center Aug. 7 after his mount in the third race at Saratoga Race Course kicked him as he was getting a leg up in the paddock.
The 22-year-old rider, a brother of journeyman Shaun Bridgmohan, was about to swing into the saddle and had grasped the reins of Cincinnati Kid, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Eddie Miller, when the horse kicked him in the chest.
Bridgmohan was alert and speaking and responding to the commands of New York Racing Association Emergency Medical Technicians on the grounds as he lay on the grass at the side of the walking ring in the paddock. He was given oxygen as a precautionary measure and transported via stretcher to an ambulance outside the paddock gate.
Cincinnat Kid, at 30-1 on the morning line, was making his first start in the 5 ½-furlong event on the Mellon Turf Course. Miller was forced to scratch the gelding when he was unable to find a substitute rider.
“None of the other jockeys wanted to ride him,” Miller said. “It’s a shame after all the work I’ve put into this horse, bringing him up off the farm and everything."