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Update: Jockeys Mejia, Figueroa Escape Serious Injury In Monmouth Spill

Jockeys Tomas Mejia and Heriberto Figueroa did not suffer any serious injuries in Sunday's fifth-race accident at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., and both riders were released that night from a local hospital after being evaluated.

One of the two horses involved, Rose for a Saint, sustained only minor scrapes after falling onto the turf, while the other, Service With Honor, sustained a knee injury that will likely end his racing career.

Mejia was between horses aboard Service With Honor rounding the far turn of the 1 1/16 mile grass contest when horse and rider suddenly went down after clipping heels. Figueroa and Rose for a Saint were unable to avoid Service With Honor and also fell.

Robert Tuccille, agent for Mejia, said the 25-year-old is “very sore” but no fractures or internal injuries were found in a series of CT scans and X-rays. “It looked like maybe a horse nicked him after he went down,” Tuccille said. “He was in and out of consciousness and heavily medicated.”

Tuccille said Mejia will need medical clearance but anticipates that he could be back riding within a week.

John Salamone, agent for Figueroa, said the rider is taking an anti-inflammatory for some body soreness but did not suffer a concussion, fractures or internal injuries. Figueroa took off his mounts at Colonial Downs on Monday but will ride at Monmouth on Friday, Salamone said.

Salamone said he visited Rose for a Saint at trainer Skip Einhorn's barn and the horse had only minor scrapes. Tuccille said trainer Michael Dini was at the hospital Sunday night to check on the condition of Mejia and said Service With Honor will likely be retired from racing because of an injury to his knee but will be able to go on to a second career.

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Go East Young Man: Heriberto Figueroa Moving Tack To Monmouth Park

While there's been a lot of talk about jockeys who say they won't be riding at New Jersey's Monmouth Park this summer because of the strict riding crop rules put in place by the state's racing commission, agent John Salamone is eager to report that he will be representing 21-year-old Heriberto Figueroa, who is moving his tack from Southern California to the Jersey Shore for the meet that begins May 28.

“It's a great opportunity to take a kid who has a bright future,” said Salamone, who will also represent Jomar Torres for the third consecutive year at Monmouth while handling Chantal Sutherland's book at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. “He can sit on a horse and ride,” Salamone added, “and he doesn't use the whip that much.”

New Jersey's rule, the strictest in North America, prohibits use of the whip for anything other than safety purposes.

Salamone said he was contacted by jockey Jose Ortiz, who got to know Figueroa at Puerto Rico's Escuela Vocacional Hipica riding school, where Jose and brother Irad Ortiz Jr. graduated, along with many other top riders.

“He called me and said he wanted to move East,” Ortiz said of Figueroa. “I know the kids from the jockey school, and I think he can ride a little bit. Heriberto has a great work ethic. He's a very nice, humble person and I know he's going to work as hard as he can. Monmouth is a great meet for him to ride.”

Figueroa launched his career in his native Puerto Rico, then rode during the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet in 2018 before heading to California, where he made an immediate impact, teaming up frequently with leading trainer Peter Miller. He finished his first full year as an apprentice with 103 wins from 582 mounts and finished in the top three in 47% of his races.

Figueroa won stakes for Miller and trainer Richard Baltas, who sent the jockey to Ohio last year to win the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint Stakes aboard Vertical Threat.

“He's a great kid who always works hard and has a good attitude,” Miller said of Figueroa. “We won quite a few races together and I think he has a lot of talent.”

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Chantal Sutherland To Begin Taking Mounts At Gulfstream In April

Chantal Sutherland has announced she will return to riding regularly April 1 at Gulfstream Park.

A multiple graded stakes-winning jockey who has ridden more than 1,000 winners, Sutherland will set up business at Gulfstream after spending the winter here galloping horses for trainer Ken McPeek. Sutherland last rode at Turfway Park Dec. 9 after riding at Churchill Downs in November.

Sutherland will be represented by agent John Salamone, who will also book Sutherland mounts for Florida Cup Day March 28 at Tampa Bay Downs.

“I felt like when I got here [this winter] it was like home,” she said. “When I got here, I loved it, and I've had good feedback and vibes from everyone.”

A Sovereign Award winner in her native Canada and a Grade 1 winner on Game On Dude, Sutherland said she's been training for her return and wants to ride as much as possible.

“The combination of boxing, yoga, and meditation has created a great balance of grit and calm that I will leverage to win,” she said in a statement. “The choice to return has been manifesting and growing in my heart over the last year. I want to ride as much as I can before releasing the hold to a sport that is part of me. Someday I will face the expiration date that all jockeys and professional athletes must face, but not yet.”

Sutherland rode at Gulfstream in 2005. In 2016 she returned to Gulfstream to ride Kiss to Remember in the Added Elegance Stakes.

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