Seven weeks after a spill at Delaware Park left him seriously injured, Vince Halliday walked out of Cristiana Hospital in Newark, Del., and entered the next phase of his recovery.
On July 15, Halliday was riding Tua in a maiden claiming race at the Wilmington, Del., track when the filly clipped heels with a horse in front of her. In the ensuing accident, Halliday suffered fractures to vertebrae in his neck and spine, as well as his elbow and scapula, injuries which left him in Cristiana's ICU for several weeks.
Over his weeks in the hospital, the Irish-born jockey has overcome complications like pneumonia and swallowing challenges to reach a point in his recovery where he could return home and start the next phase of his recuperation. Ultimately, Halliday is determined to be back in the saddle when the time is right.
According to Halliday's wife Stephanie Pastore, the fractures he suffered in the spill are healing well. His spinal fractures have mended enough that he no longer requires a back brace or neck collar. His elbow and scapula no longer inhibit movement, leaving only the injuries to his neck muscles, which complicate swallowing, the last remaining challenge in his recovery.
Once Halliday passes a swallowing test and can resume a normal diet, Pastore says he intends to start preparing for a return to the saddle. After a 2008 accident left him with multiple fractures, Halliday worked hard to return to riding. He intends to do the same again over a decade later.
In the meantime, as Halliday recovers and looks forward to a return to the job he loves, the couple remains grateful for all of the support they have received from the racing community. Fundraisers, including a Go Fund Me, and the Delaware Park On Track Medical and Disability Program have enabled Pastore to be there every step of the way as Halliday battled through his injuries. The Delaware Park On Track Medical and Disability Program is an insurance policy that covers “usual and customary” medical expenses for jockeys injured in on-track accidents at Delaware Park. All jockeys licensed to ride there pay an insurance fee per mount for the program.
“The racing community is astounding in the care they've shown us,” Pastore told the Paulick Report. “We have friends from all over, including Ireland and England, contacting us every day to see how Vince is doing.”
Halliday's recovery from his injuries continues to amaze his wife and those who know him.
“Jockeys, pound for pound, are the strongest athletes,” Pastore observed about her husband, who started his career in Ireland and England and then moved to the U.S. in 2008. “We look forward to the next chapter for Vince.”
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