(from NYRA release)
Apprentice jockey Amanda Casey will remain at North Shore University Hospital for a week to recover from a bruised liver suffered when she was kicked by her horse in the paddock at Aqueduct Racetrack on Oct. 30.
According to her agent, Joe Ceraulo, Casey was admitted to the intensive care unit after being diagnosed with internal bleeding. Casey, of South Glens Falls, N.Y., was taken by ambulance to the hospital after her mount, Karakorum Jete, kicked her in the right side before the ninth and final race of the day.
“They chose not to do surgery, which is a good sign,” said Ceraulo Saturday morning. “They want to keep a close eye on her for a week. They said best-case scenario, she will probably be out from four to six weeks.”
Casey was accompanied to the hospital by a registered nurse from the New York Racing Association’s "Jockey Medical Advocate Program," which was implemented a year ago to assist both jockey and family members with medical and administrator matters in the event a rider is injured.
“Having the nurse advocate there really moved the needle,” said Ceraulo. “We were waiting a while for a bed to open, but everything else went very smoothly and quickly.”
Earlier Friday, Casey got her first victory at the Aqueduct meet aboard 47-1 shot Wynot Siyue in the fourth race. The seven-pound apprentice has a record of 1-1-2 from seven months through the first three days of the meet.