Jockeys T.D. Houghton and Luan Machado were hospitalized following a three-horse spill in Saturday's sixth race, the Howard B. Noonan Stakes, at Mahoning Valley racecourse in Youngstown, Ohio, according to a GoFundMe post that is seeking contributions to help defray medical costs.
One horse was euthanized as a result of the incident.
According to the Equibase chart, Machado's mount, Startdfromdabottom, fell just past the five-sixteenths pole while in fourth position in the six-furlong race for Ohio-registered 3-year-olds. Two other horses trailing behind him, Hakman (ridden by Houghton) and Big Truck (ridden by Sonny Leon), could not avoid Startdfromdabottom and also fall. A fourth horse, To Win (ridden by Fernando Salazar Becerra) avoided the incident but was eased.
Hakman was euthanized as a result of injuries suffered from the fall while the other three horses affected by the spill walked off.
According to Ohio-based horse owner Carly Hamel, who established a GoFundMe page, Machada sustained a fractured clavicle in the spill. Houghton has multiple facial fractures and will require surgery. According to Hamel, Houghton is under sedation in a nearby hospital's intensive care unit.
Houghton is currently fifth in the Mahoning Valley jockey standings with 31 wins from 215 mounts. Machado is next with 30 wins from 177 starts.
A veteran who began his riding career in 1987, Houghton has compiled 6,066 career wins from 37,781 starts, ranking in the top 10 nationally by wins on several occasions – as recently as 2015 when he won 259 races.
Machado began riding in 2015 and has won 185 races in 1,218 starts.
Houghton's daughter, Alyssa, posted the following message on Facebook about her father's condition on Sunday morning.
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