Jockey Montanez Recovering From Back Surgery After Fall

Jockey Rosario Montanez, unseated in the first race at Laurel Park July 17, is recovering from back surgery July 18 to repair several fractures, agent Joe Rocco said. The agent said earlier Saturday he was told the jockey has movement in his extremities.

Montanez, a 28-year-old San Diego native, 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.

Surgery was performed Saturday morning at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Rocco, a former jockey who won more than 3,700 races from 1979-2011, visited the hospital and was also getting updates from Montanez's sister-in-law, Laurel-based apprentice rider Rebecca Grace LaBarre.

"She said the surgery went well," Rocco said. "He's out of surgery. They said he had like six broken bones in his back. They didn't give me the specifics, but they said he also broke his neck somewhere, but they think it will heal on its own. I feel so bad for the boy."

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.

Rocco praised Montanez's talent and work ethic, particularly during Maryland's pause in live racing from mid-March to May 30 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I love him," Rocco said. "I was a jockey for 40 years. He's probably one of the most determined kids I ever met, and I was very determined. He worked every day during the virus. Every day. It's unreal. I feel terrible."

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