Jockey Dean Sarvis will miss at least six to eight weeks of riding time due to injuries incurred in a racing accident at River Downs on Saturday. According to his agent, Jimmy McNerey, Sarvis was diagnosed with a broken scapula and will visit Louisville-based specialist Dr. Raymond Shea on Tuesday to determine the full extent of damage to his collarbone, which may be broken."It's a real misfortune because he just came back off a collarbone injury about six months ago," McNerey said. "He had a great start to the meet before he got hurt."37-year-old Sarvis, who had four winners out of five mounts after River Downs opened April 14, was riding on the lead aboard first time starter Two Timin Cat (Tactical Cat) in Saturday's second race before the filly ducked out toward the middle of the track. The jockey was unseated, and the rest of the 10-horse field managed to avoid him without incident.
X-rays taken at Mercy Hospital in Anderson, Ohio, detected the broken shoulder. Sarvis also received stitches in his elbow."The good news is that the recovery time for a broken collarbone and broken shoulder are about the same," McNerey said. "He'll take the time off and try to get back for the second River Downs meet during the last week of June. It's too bad, because he had great contacts with all of the trainers there and it looked like he was gonna' do leading rider." Sarvis is the top single-season rider at the Cincinnati track, with an 83-win record set in 2004.