Paco Lopez X-Rayed For Possible Shoulder Injury After Meadowlands Spill

Leading jockey Paco Lopez, coming off his eighth riding title at Monmouth Park, was taken by ambulance to Hackensack Medical Center for X-rays on his left shoulder after his mount in the third race, Voter Protection, broke down entering the first turn of the 1 1/16-mile turf race, according to the first aid staff at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, N.J.

Voter Protection, the even-money favorite in the race, was at the back of the pack and clear of other horses at the time of the misstep that sent Lopez headlong into the turf. First Aid personnel said Lopez was “alert and oriented” but was complaining of left shoulder pain.

Lopez later told track personnel that his shoulder “popped out” but was not broken. He took off his final three mounts on the card.

According to the Equibase chart, Voter Protection was euthanized.

A 3-year-old More Than Ready gelding racing for Klaravich Stables Inc. and trained by Chad Brown, Voter Protection was making his seventh career start in the $25,000 maiden claiming race for 3-year-olds and up. He had raced for a claiming tag twice previously, most recently while finishing sixth in a six-furlong turf race for $50,000 maiden claimers at Belmont Park on Sept. 26.

Lopez is second leading jockey by wins in North America in 2021. His 281 wins are just nine behind Irad Ortiz Jr. Lopez is three wins shy of his most productive year in the saddle, and at nearly $10.6 million he is closing in on his best year from an earnings standpoint.

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‘More Opportunities’ Leading To Career Year For Trainer Luis Carvajal

Despite the absence of a “big” horse, trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr. has still managed to produce a breakout year in a career that began in 2006. The formula for the success has been pretty basic: More starters than ever before helped produced more winners than he has ever had before.

He doesn't intend slow down yet, either, with horses entered in each of the first two nights of the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet that gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. The six-race, all-turf cards during the seven-day meet will have a first race post time of 7 p.m.

Carvajal will send out Fly Fly Away, one of the likely favorites, in Friday's second race at a mile and a sixteenth, and Le Coste in Saturday's fifth race at one mile.

It's all in an effort to add to what has been a banner year for the 49-year-old native of Santiago, Chile.

“The big difference this year is that I have more owners giving me more horses,” said Carvajal. “More horses mean more opportunities to win.

“It's a lot of work having more horses. But I have a great team. It doesn't matter how many horses you have if you have good help. It makes everything so much easier.”

Carvajal has sent out a career-high 192 starters in 2021, resulting in a personal-best of 30 winners. His increased workload is best reflected in the recently-completed Monmouth Park meet, where he sent out 17 winners from 109 starters compared to nine winners from 61 starters a year ago.

“Yes, this definitely has been my best year,” said Carvajal. “It's a lot of fun when you win races.”

That's saying something since Carvajal campaigned multiple Grade 1 winner Imperial Hint until his retirement in 2020. In 2018 alone, Imperial Hint accounted for $767,500 of Carvajal's $1,115,573 in earnings that year. That remains his high water mark in earnings, with his stable of mostly allowance horses, claimers and maidens producing $805,011 in earnings this year.

“I'm looking for my next big horse,” he said. “That always makes things easier.”

Fly Fly Away, meanwhile, enters Friday on a form spree, with two wins and a pair of seconds in his past four starts.

“The horse is doing good. I think he will run a really good race,” said Carvajal. “My only concern is this will be his first time under the lights. But it's the same for a lot of horses. They have never raced under the lights. We'll see how some of them handle it.”

Carvajal's plans are to stay through the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands Meet, which runs until Oct. 30, and then move his stable to Tampa Downs before returning to Monmouth Park next spring.

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Monmouth-At-Meadowlands Meet Kicks Off Friday

Fifty-nine horses were entered today for the six races on the all-turf card when the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. First race post time throughout the seven-day all-turf meet that spans the month of October will be 7 p.m.

A $40,000 Maiden Special Weight at a mile and a sixteenth headlines the opening day card at the East Rutherford facility.

Jockey Paco Lopez, coming off his eighth riding title at Monmouth Park, where he averaged nearly two wins per day (109 overall) for the 55-day meet, is listed to ride in all six races Friday.

The fourth race on the card, a $7,500 claiming event at a mile and a sixteenth, drew a field of 14 including four alternates.

The Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet will also hold live racing on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Friday-Saturday schedule will continue on Oct. 8 and 9 before shifting to just Friday on Oct. 15 and then to just Saturday on Oct. 23 and 30.

Six races will be held nightly.

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2020 Monmouth Meet Ends on a High

Monmouth Park showed increases in both the daily transmission of its signal and in total average handle compared to 2019 during the combined 44-day meet that concluded Saturday. Monmouth Park’s average daily simulcast handle increased 27.09% to $3,604,413 daily compared to $2,836,148 last year. The overall average handle was up 20.81% to $3,807,082 daily compared to $3,151,201 last year.

“We are so grateful to everyone for supporting this extraordinary meet and, more specifically, the Governor’s Office and the New Jersey Racing Commission for allowing us the ability not only to race, but to do so with fans,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, operators of the racetrack. “And once we were green lit for racing, the entire Monmouth Park staff worked tirelessly to ensure not just great racing, but a safe environment for everyone. We couldn’t be more proud to report zero cases of COVID-19 over the course of our entire meet, and the credit goes to the horsemen and fans who not only followed the necessary guidelines, but collectively cooperated to ensure each person’s safety.

Drazin continued, “[Track Medical Director] Dr. Angelo Chinnici and his entire team deserve special recognition for their efforts and, literally, around the clock work. Our success this season is rooted in their dedication and Monmouth Park is better off because of Angelo.”

The Monmouth Park meet that ran from July 3 to Sept. 27 consisted of 36 racing days after one live card was lost due to weather. The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth in the month of October provided an additional eight days of racing after one was canceled to weather as well. Last year’s racing season was 68 days.

The track operated with attendance restrictions throughout the 2020 season under COVID-19 guidelines. Opening day was delayed from its original starting date of May 2 to July 3 due to the coronavirus, with racing calendar reduced from 56 days to 37 as a result.

During the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet jockey Jose Ferrer was the leading rider with 11 winners over the eight live racing cards. Wayne Potts topped the trainer standings with seven winners.

Trainer Kelly Breen, who captured his third Monmouth Park training title during the summer meet, ended the New Jersey racing season with a flourish by winning three races on Saturday’s 11-race card, including two of the three Jersey-bred stake races.

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