Jockey Julia Brimo, who suffered multiple injuries from a spill at Keeneland Oct. 30, was still listed in critical condition at the University of Kentucky Medical Center the afternoon of Nov. 2.
“She was conscious, and she could blink her eyes and knew who I was,” said Doc Danner, a jockey agent and friend who recently visited Brimo in the intensive care unit. Brimo suffered head trauma and injuries to her back when she fell as a result of her mount, Golden Stride, clipping heels during Keeneland’s first race Oct. 30.
Danner said Brimo’s doctors had discussed performing a surgical procedure in the next couple days that would relieve some of the pressure on her vertebrae.
“She looks pretty rough, but she managed to smile at her mother while she was brushing her hair,” said Danner. “(Her recovery) is going to be day by day, and she’s a long way from being out of trouble.”
A native of Ontario, Canada, Brimo won the Sovereign Award as the top apprentice jockey in Canada for 2003, when she rode 75 winners.
At Keeneland, Brimo had ridden in two previous races during the fall meeting prior to the start of the day's racing.