Injured Cabrera Likely to Miss Rest of Oaklawn Meet

David Cabrera, who has the most starts and victories at Oaklawn Park during the current meet likely will miss the remainder of the 2021-22 meeting after sustaining upper back, neck, and head injuries from a spill in a claiming race April 8, according to agent Joe Santos.

Santos said Cabrera has compressed C5 and C6 vertebrae, crushed cheekbones, and suffered a concussion in the accident, which occurred in the upper stretch after his mount, Mostly Awesome , clipped heels when in tight and fell, throwing the jockey to the ground.

A trailing horse, Daigle , jumped the fallen Mostly Awesome near the three-sixteenths pole, unseating apprentice jockey Chel-c Bailey. Both horses involved in the accident were captured without incident, with no initial signs of distress. Bailey wasn't seriously injured and fulfilled her remaining engagements on the card.

Cabrera, 29, was motionless for several minutes before being placed on a backboard and transported by ambulance to nearby CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, where he remained in ICU Saturday morning, Santos said, adding there's no timetable for when the jockey will be released from the hospital.

"It's really kind of dependent on the cognitive aspect of it, when he kind of grasps everything mentally," Santos said. "He's a lot more active today and it's mainly just from the concussion. There's just some confusion there."

Santos said Cabrera, who has movement in all extremities, was unconscious for approximately 20 minutes following the accident. Santos said he's unclear if Cabrera was injured by the impact of the fall, Mostly Awesome rolling over him, or a combination of the two events.

"He doesn't remember the accident, so it's kind of hard to get that from him," Santos said. "His head hit twice. He hit and then it came back again and hit the ground one more time. We're very, very thankful that he's awake and able to talk to us because there were some scary moments there. He wasn't moving. He was out cold."

Santos said Cabrera's compressed C5 and C6 vertebrae will "heal with time" and not require surgery. His cheekbones "were crushed up, kind of like crushed ice" and "not like a fracture, really." Those injuries will not require surgery, either, Santos said. Santos said there was initial brain bleeding, but no swelling.