Puerto Rican jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. fractured his left ankle on Thursday when he fell off his mount during the ninth race at Keeneland racetrack in Kentucky, and will undergo surgery that keeps him out of competition indefinitely. His agent, Steve Rushing, confirmed the injury by text message, as reported by Daily Racing Form. The accident happened when the 2-year-old filly She’s Good Trouble stumbled one step after leaving the starting gate, causing Ortiz to lose his balance and fall.
The filly ran on riderless until a track employee caught her and showed no apparent injuries. Keeneland emergency personnel took Ortiz, conscious and alert, to the track’s first aid area, then by ambulance to a nearby hospital. It is another hard blow for the jockey, who had only returned to competition on October 2 after nearly two months out with a left foot injury, on the opening day of Keeneland’s fall meet.
Despite the absence, Ortiz ranks sixth in wins with 227 and third in purse earnings with about $28.3 million this North American season. The fracture will also keep him out of the Breeders’ Cup on October 30 and 31, where he had rides on Further Ado in the $7 million Classic, Rhetorical in the $2 million Mile, Splendora in the $2 million Distaff, Built in the $2 million Sprint and Salahudin in the $2 million Juvenile.