Garcia on 'Road to Recovery' After Prairie Meadows Fall

Jockey Wilmer Garcia, injured in an Aug. 14 race at Prairie Meadows, is expected to make a full recovery according to his agent, Becky Esch.

First reported by Daily Racing Form Aug. 15, Garcia fractured two vertebrae after his mount, the 4-year-old filly Sweet Holiness , clipped heels with another shortly after leaving the starting gate in the eighth race on the card at the Iowa oval.

Garcia, who switched tack to Prairie Meadows from Tampa Bay Downs in May, underwent procedures Wednesday to repair his C-4 and C-5 vertebrae, which were fractured in the fall. He will be out for the rest of the meet.

"The surgeries went well and we expect a full recovery. He's on the road to recovery and everything looks wonderful," Esch said.

According to Equibase, Garcia's first year in the saddle was 2011, when he made 13 starts at Penn National Race Course. His most high-profile success came with Matalona Thoroughbreds' homebred Stormy Embrace  in the Princess Rooney Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, which the duo won in both 2018 and 2019.

This year Garcia has earned $1,671,785 from 396 starts, with a 51-57-69 record.