Franco Takes Few Days Off After Spill

Jockey Manuel Franco, who was unseated in Wednesday's fifth race, will not return to ride this weekend due to body soreness, his agent, retired Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero, Jr., said Thursday morning.

"He'll be back. Nothing's broken; the doctor just wanted to play it safe," Cordero said. "It was the first time I've ever seen anybody get run over by that many horses and come out OK. Five horses hit him; even the last horse got him."

Franco, 20, was making a move to the lead when his mount, The Ghost Bride, bumped with Undertherain on the inside. Franco fell to his right, directly in the path of oncoming horses. He sat up and was taken to first aid before being brought to Saratoga Hospital for further evaluation.

Franco underwent another battery of tests after being released from the hospitalWednesday evening, all of which came back negative.

"I sent him for a second opinion in Malta [N.Y.] to one of their specialists and they did a hundred tests on him. The guy just called me and said he's fine but body sore, and it would probably be a good idea to give him a few days," Cordero said. "He said he wanted to ride on Saturday but I told him, 'You're 20 years old. The world's not going to end if you miss three more days.'"

Cordero said Franco suffered cuts on his left calf and knee and bruises on his right shoulder and behind his right ear, all from being stepped on by passing horses.

"He's very lucky," Cordero said. "Being young and fit helps."

Source: NYRA Communications