Injured Jockey Rico Flores Diagnosed With Cervical Spine Injury, Begins ‘Long Road’ To Recovery

Jockey Rico Flores was injured in a spill on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Louisiana Downs. He was transported to the hospital, and was diagnosed with a cervical spine injury and underwent surgery earlier this week.

His companion, Sally Warne, stopped by the Harrah's Louisiana Downs racing office on Tuesday and gave an update that Flores was able to move his legs and feet fine; lift his head, shoulders, and elbows, but still not able to move his fingers. He will begin physical therapy today. She added that it will be a “long road” to recovery.

According to statistics on Equibase. Flores has won 366 races and purses of $5.9 million since he began riding in 1994.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist Flores in his recovery. If you are able to make a donation, please visit: GoFundMe.com.RicoFlores.

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Authentic Vaults To Fourth In Weekly Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Fresh off his dramatic front-running victory in last Saturday's 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby (G1), Authentic jumped from No. 11 to No. 4 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, while top-rated Maximum Security increased his lead over Derby runner-up Tiz the Law. The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings is a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). The 1 ¼-mile Classic, scheduled to be run on Nov. 7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., is the climactic race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 13. A list of voting members can be found here.

Authentic, owned by Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing, gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby win. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief defeated Sackatoga Stable's odds-on favorite Tiz the Law by 1 ¼ lengths in 2:00.61 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

Authentic (167 votes) earned a Breeders' Cup Challenge automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park on July 18. Now with five wins in six starts, Authentic is slated to run next in the “Win and You're In” Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course on Oct. 3.

Gary and Mary West, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's Maximum Security (238 votes) widened his lead to 58 points over Tiz the Law in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings. The 4-year-old bay son of 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day won the inaugural Saudi Cup, the San Diego Handicap (G1) and the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) this year. Trained by Bob Baffert, Maximum Security earned 16 first-place votes this week.

Tiz the Law (180 votes) holds onto second place in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings after suffering his first defeat this year after dominant wins in the Holy Bull (G3), Florida Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Runhappy Travers (G1). The New York-bred son of Constitution could bypass the Preakness and train up to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

GMB Racing's 7-year-old Tom's d'Etat (179 votes), winner of the Stephen Foster (G2) for trainer Al Stall Jr., remained in third place.

Following Authentic in fifth place is the 4-year-old Improbable (162 votes), the third Baffert-trained horse in the top five. Owned by WinStar Farm, CHC Inc., and SF Racing, Improbable captured the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G1) and the “Win and You're In” Whitney (G1) at Saratoga this year.

The sixth-ranked horse is Allied Racing Stable's By My Standards (114 votes), who won his third graded stakes race of the year with an impressive score in last Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs for trainer Bret Calhoun.

W.S. Farish's 4-year-old Code of Honor (63 votes), trained by Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey III, remains in seventh place. The 4-year-old chestnut son of Noble Mission (GB) won the Westchester Stakes (G3) and was fourth in the Whitney in his last start.

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector (53 votes), scratched from the Kentucky Derby early last week due to a minor foot issue, drops from sixth to eighth place. Trained by Tom Drury Jr., Art Collector, the Ellis Park Derby and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner, is a candidate for the Preakness Stakes.

The final two spots in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are completed by the top two finishers in Saturday's Woodward (G1) at Saratoga, Global Campaign and Tacitus.

Sagamore Farm and WinStar Farm's 4-year-old Global Campaign (41 votes) enters the top 10 for the first time at No. 9 after taking the Woodward by 1 ¾ lengths for his third win in four starts this year. Trained by Stanley Hough, Global Campaign won the Monmouth Cup (G3) prior to the Woodward.

Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus (39 votes), trained by Bill Mott, drops from eighth to 10th place.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings –  Sept. 8, 2020*

RANK HORSE TOTAL VOTES FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1 Maximum Security 238 16
2 Tiz the Law 180 4
3 Tom's d'Etat 179 5
4 Authentic 167 0
5 Improbable 162 0
6 By My Standards 114 0
7 Code of Honor   63 0
8 Art Collector   53 0
9 Global Campaign   41 0
10 Tacitus   39 0

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

In the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be televised live on NBC.

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Doncaster Back Behind Closed Doors

After around 2,500 spectators were admitted on the opening day of Doncaster’s St Leger Festival on Wednesday as part of a pilot project for reintroducing fans to sporting events, the remainder of the festival will be behind closed doors with Prime Minister Boris Johnson once again limiting gathers to six people. The directive came from the Doncaster Council. A crowd of about 6,000 had been expected for the G1 St Leger on Saturday.

“We have had confirmation this afternoon from the local authority that we will not be able to admit a crowd to the final three days of the St Leger Festival, Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 September,” said Mark Spincer, managing director of racecourse owner Arena Racing Company’s racing division. “The race meeting will continue on a ‘behind closed doors’ basis, as per all other race meetings currently taking place in Britain.

“This pilot event represents a hugely important step not just for our business but for the whole of British racing as well as the sports and hospitality industries as a whole. We do, of course, fully understand and respect the decision and will be contacting all of our customers booked for the remaining three days as a matter of urgency. We were pleased to work closely with Doncaster Council to set up this pilot event in the manner that we had, but matters beyond anyone’s control, and the data regarding local rates that have come to light today, mean we will not be able to welcome a crowd from Thursday onwards.”

Dr. Rupert Suckling, director of public health for Doncaster, said in a statement, “The current rate of infection for the borough currently stands at 10.6 infections per 100,000 people which I have been updated on today and this is an increase due to a range of factors including an increase in testing and a lag in the test results coming in. Therefore on the grounds of public health and public safety, I have instructed the racecourse to hold the St Leger Festival behind closed doors from tomorrow. I appreciate this decision may not be met with universal agreement but it is the safest and most appropriate way to move forward for everyone’s best interests in the borough and beyond.”

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