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Jockey Sheldon Russell Out Indefinitely With Broken Foot

Champion jockey Sheldon Russell, ranked second by wins among Maryland riders this year, will be out indefinitely with a foot injury suffered during Thursday's opening day program finale at Laurel Park.

Russell, 34, was hurt after being dropped by Little Bit of That, a 2-year-old Maryland-bred filly trained by his wife, Brittany Russell, when the daughter of Great Notion reared in response to her accompanying pony acting up.

Both horses got loose and were caught, with Little Bit of That scratched from the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight turf sprint for juvenile fillies, her career debut. The race was won by another first-time starter, Kit Keller.

“His horse reared up in the post parade,” agent Marty Leonard, who also represents jockey Jevian Toledo, said. “He was thrown off the horse and just landed on it wrong.”

Russell was carried from the track and taken for evaluation. He is scheduled to have a follow-up appointment next week to determine the severity of the injury.

“He broke a bone in his foot,” Leonard said. “We don't know more right now. He's going to see a specialist on Monday. We'll know more then.”

Russell went 1-for-4 on opening day of Laurel's calendar year-ending fall meet, winning with his first mount, Ten Strike Racing's sophomore Paynter gelding Arrio also trained by his wife in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for horses 3, 4 and 5.

Maryland's overall leading rider in 2011, Russell earned the most recent of his eight career meet titles at Laurel's 2020 fall stand. He ranked second at Laurel's winter meet to open 2021, one victory behind 2020 Eclipse Award winner Alexander Crispin, and finished fifth with 26 wins during the extended four-month Preakness Meet at historic Pimlico Race Course that ended Aug. 22.

Russell has 65 wins in Maryland this year, second only to teenage sensation Charlie Marquez's 79 through Thursday. He earned career win No. 1,500 aboard Hello Beautiful in the Alma North July 31 at Pimlico, and celebrated by gifting $1,500 to her groom, Luis Barajas.

Though beset by injuries early in his career, Russell had been riding at full health since the spring of 2017 before suffering a broken right wrist last July at Delaware Park that cost him two months. He closed 2020 strongly by capturing the Laurel meet title, his first since 2015, and ranking third overall with 86 wins in Maryland.

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Kendrick Carmouche Will Be Back In The Saddle Next Monday

Jockey Kendrick Carmouche is expected to return to riding races next Monday at Parx Racing, reports the Daily Racing Form.

He has not ridden in the afternoon since Belmont Stakes day on June 5, when he suffered a broken ankle in the final race and had to undergo surgery.

“He probably could have come back and ridden the final couple of days at Saratoga, but the book was already out and we didn't know exactly when he'd be able to return, and Kendrick didn't want to come back here just to come back,” agent Kevin Bubser told DRF. “He'll ride Monday through Wednesday each of the next two weeks at Parx and be ready to return when Belmont reopens the following Thursday.”

Carmouche began working horses again on Sunday morning at Saratoga.

Jockey Vince Halliday Able To Walk With Assistance, Exits Intensive Care For Rehab

Jockey Vince Halliday, who suffered serious injuries in a race spill at Delaware Park in July, is set to leave intensive care and move to a rehabilitation unit.

Belfast-born Halliday suffered two brain bleeds, fractures to his back, neck, shoulder and elbow, and spent two weeks on a ventilator as he was unable to breathe on his own.

The jockey, who moved to the US in 2008 after riding for nearly 20 years in Britain and Ireland, has spent the last four weeks at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware.

In an update on his condition, his wife Stephanie Pastore reported Halliday was off the ventilator, able to walk with assistance but still weak.

“Vince spent two weeks in the ICU and then as soon as he got off the ventilator he moved to the trauma step down unit,” she said.

“He was steadily progressing apart from being able to swallow so he had a stomach feed tube inserted last week. However he had some complications due to the new stomach tube and ended up back in ICU for two days.

“He came back to trauma step down this past Sunday and has kept progressing so today he is being discharged from the hospital and is moving on to acute rehab where they will work on his swallowing as well as general physical therapy.

“He is able to walk with assistance, but is just weak. So the next chapter of his recovery begins. He should be in rehab for seven to ten days.“

Halliday served his apprenticeship with Kevin Prendergast in Ireland, moving to England after two seasons. Over 17 seasons based in the north he rode 51 winners, mostly in the north of England for trainers including David Barron, Richard Whitaker, Karl Burke, Declan Carroll, Brian Ellison and Michael Dods.

Since moving to the US in 2008 where he works as a jockey and exercise rider. he has ridden 45 winners from 1,111 rides which have earned $1.2 million in prize-money. He has had two successes in 2021.

The GoFundMe page s set up for Halliday to help pay his medical bills have so far raised more than $40,000.

This story was reprinted with permission by Horse Racing Planet. Find the original piece and more content here.

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Lane Luzzi Finishing Up Rehab For Broken Collarbone, Ready To Resume Riding At Remington

Racing returns to Remington Park as the Thoroughbred season opens Friday, Aug. 20. While all involved are eager to begin, jockey Lane Luzzi is especially anticipating the start of the meeting.

Luzzi, 24, will return to riding in August from a broken collarbone incurred near the end of the season at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. The native New Yorker, who has called the central time zone home for five years, is finishing his rehabilitation and is set to continue one of his best career years.

“I plan on possibly riding at Prairie Meadows (Altoona, Iowa) and then get to Oklahoma City a little over a week before the season to work horses and get ready,” Luzzi said while visiting family in Saratoga, N.Y.

“Luckily, the collarbone didn't require surgery. You never really want to get hurt but the timing of this was ideal. I missed the last week and a half at Lone Star. I would have had to work to fill the time before the start of the Remington Park season, so I'm using this opportunity to rest and get ready.”

When Luzzi broke his collarbone on July 2, he had won 70 races this year, riding primarily at Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park. He had also finished second and third, 62 times each from his 453 mounts. The victory rate had him on pace to surpass his career best of 117 wins for a year, set last year.

Well-known New York based jockey Mike Luzzi, who has accumulated more than 3,500 career wins, is Lane's father. His accomplishments created too many comparisons and possibly some added pressure for the young rider when he started to race. Lane Luzzi has been based at Remington Park since 2017 after making a difficult decision to uproot from the East Coast, the only region of America he had ever known. As a 19-year-old, he moved west to establish his career in the saddle.

“I had a good apprentice year in 2016 and lost my bug (weight allowance) on the East Coast. Then things went slow for me at the Gulfstream Park championship meet, where it is really, really tough. I wanted a new start and to go somewhere that no one knew me to make my own way.

“It was very tough, my first year at Remington Park; I only won six races. It took a good few weeks to get my foot in the door and to get opportunities. Sticking around let people know I was serious about building business and moving forward in this part of the country.”

Paying his dues has begun to pay off for Luzzi. He only won eight races in his second season at Remington Park in 2018. However, things picked up when he won 21 in 2019 and followed up with 39 local victories last year. Luzzi credits hard work and the efforts of his agent who has backed him throughout.

“Brad White is the only agent I've had since moving,” Luzzi said. “He's been patient with me and stuck with me. After a few years, we're doing great.”

Looking forward to Remington Park, Luzzi hasn't set any huge goals but is looking forward to riding a promising 2-year-old.

“Feel the Fear is a colt I won gate to wire with at Lone Star. He's trained by Austin Gustafson and will probably be pointed to some stakes soon, maybe the Clever Trevor. He's a beautiful colt and won easily.”

Feel the Fear broke his maiden at first-asking, going 4-1/2 furlongs, drawing away to win by 4-1/4 lengths in :53.07 on a fast track. He worked for Gustafson on July 25 at Remington Park, breezing a half-mile in :51.91 over a fast surface. Owned by Forge Ahead Stables, Feel the Fear is a Kentucky-bred by Honor Code from the Kitten's Joy mare Fresh Feline. The $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park, for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs, is scheduled for Oct. 29.

In addition to the more frequent pace of winning, Luzzi appreciates the lifestyle his occupation has afforded him in Oklahoma and Texas, compared to the hustle and bustle of living in the New York City area. “

Things are a lot slower than home, I really enjoy that so much, and it's quieter. I grew up in the city so there is never any downtime and everything is at a fast pace.”

Luzzi does miss his family, especially his father.

“I grew up watching dad ride, sitting in the jocks' room when I was three, and spending time with him. We talk three times a day discussing the races but we talk about plenty of other things. If he sees something in my rides, he says something.”

Coming into the Remington Park season, Luzzi has amassed 479 career wins with 449 seconds and another 448 thirds, from 3,620 mounts. His mounts have earned $10.4 million.

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