Flores Injured in Fair Grounds Training Mishap

Apprentice jockey Victor Flores suffered head trauma in a spill during training Dec. 9 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, said Liz Morris, a friend of the rider.

Flores was breezing a horse for trainer Matt Shirer when his mount bolted to the outside and he was unseated near horses jogging in the opposite direction. One of those horses was unable to avoid the fallen rider, according to Shirer.

"That's where he got stepped on or something by one of the other horses," the trainer said.

The filly that unseated the jockey was uninjured, Shirer said.

Flores, whose most recent mount came Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs, where he rode Out Cold to a seventh-place finish in a claiming race, rode regularly at Monmouth Park this summer and fall before obtaining a few mounts in Kentucky in November. He began his career in 2018, winning 24 races to this point in his career from 364 mounts. Prior to basing at Monmouth Park, he rode in Southern California this year.

"He's a nice kid. I was trying to help him out, put him on a couple horses," Shirer said. "Then something like that happens. It's very unfortunate."

Rudy Rodriguez Jr., Flores' former agent, has set up a GoFundMe account to raise funds for the injured rider.