Jockey Rick Wilson is in critical condition at the Shock Trauma Unit at the University of Maryland Hospital in downtown Baltimore following a spill at Pimlico Saturday afternoon.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Rick and his family," said Lou Raffetto, chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club.
Wilson was dropped when his mount, Advance to Go, stumbled coming out of the gate during the second race. The jockey flipped head over heels to the ground and lay motionless, face down, as the field rounded the first turn. The starting gate crew and track outriders signaled the other riders to pull up their mounts at the head of the lane and moments later the race was ruled "no contest" by the stewards.
Wilson was lifted from the ground and placed on his back on a stretcher. At 2:05 p.m. a state police helicopter landed on the backstretch near Pimlico and Belvedere avenues and at 2:09 p.m. the rider was transported to the hospital.
The 50-year old jockey ranks 20th on the all-time wins list with 4,939 victories. Wilson has seven Classic mounts on his resume, including five mounts in the Preakness. He missed 54 weeks after recovering from a broken right leg on October 12, 2001.
(Chart,
Equibase)
