Jockey Rene Douglas emerged from seven-hour surgery at
Northwestern Hospital in Illinois on Sunday without feeling in his lower
extremities, and doctors fear the 42-year-old reinsman may not walk again,
according to a Blood-Horse report.
Douglas, who entered surgery at 2:30 a.m. (CDT), was seriously injured during
Saturday’s Arlington Matron H. (G3) when his mount, Born to Be, clipped heels
with a rival and fell, ultimately landing on Douglas. Track workers had to drag
the filly off Douglas before he could be taken off the track and to a nearby
hospital. Douglas was eventually airlifted to Northwestern, where he will remain
in the intensive care unit for two weeks until he moves to rehabilitation.
Born to Be did not sufficiently recover from her injuries and was later
euthanized.
“It’s devastating,” said Dennis Cooper, Douglas’s agent. “He’ll probably have
use of his upper body, but they gave it to me straight that he’s not likely to
walk. They won’t be a million percent sure until after the swelling goes down in
about 10 to 14 days, but it doesn’t look good.”
Cooper said Douglas was alert and spoke to his wife just prior to his
surgery. Efforts were made to repair compressed vertebrae and damage to the
rider’s neck, but the main concern was centered on Douglas’s spinal cord, which
may have been damaged by a fragment of splintered bone.
A native of Panama, Douglas came to the United States in 1983. A winner of
more than 3,000 races in North America, Douglas gained national attention when guiding
Caltech to an upset victory in the 1989 Washington D.C. International (G1). His
most important victory occurred in the 1996 Belmont S. (G1) when he rode
Editor’s Note in the 1 1/2-mile classic for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Douglas has ridden regularly on nearly every major circuit, but had done
especially well at Arlington Park over the past decade. He has won six riding
titles at the suburban Chicago track, including four in a row from 2001-04. He
was also leading rider in 2007-08.