Jockey Montanez Suffers Multiple Injuries at Laurel

Jockey Rosario Montanez, unseated in the first race at Laurel Park July 17, "broke bones in his back and has blood on his brain" and is scheduled for surgery July 18, agent Joe Rocco said Saturday morning.

The agent said regular updates about Montanez have been difficult to receive due to COVID-19 health restrictions preventing visitors to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where the rider is hospitalized, but that he was told the jockey has movement in his extremities.

"I just want him to be OK. That's all I care about," Rocco said.

Montanez was injured in a 5 1/2-furlong turf race when his mount, Hendaya, grew eager in traffic on the backstretch, clipped heels, and fell, according to the Equibase chart. After falling, Hendaya jogged off the turf course, the chart noted.

Another horse, Annie Boo Boo, racing at the back of the pack, jumped over the fallen horse and rider leaving the backstretch and was eased by jockey Angel Cruz late in the race.

Rocco said he was told by an on-track observer that Montanez was bleeding profusely from his nose, mouth, and ears when he was immediately evaluated.

Montanez had another frightening injury in 2014 in a racing accident during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, where he was riding at the time. That injury required the insertion of a plate into his face during surgery, Rocco said. He did not resume riding until March 2016.

Now based in Maryland, Montanez has ridden mostly at Laurel Park this year and occasionally at other tracks in the Mid-Atlantic. He has ridden seven winners from 77 mounts in 2020 and has a career record of 609 winners from 4,703 rides since 2010. His mounts have earned over $18.8 million.

He was one of three finalists for the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey in 2011, an honor that went to Kyle Frey.

Maryland trainer Brittany Trimble Russell has organized a GoFundMe account with donations meant to assist Montanez.