Gary Stevens slams Churchill’s response to Cannon’s injury
Agent and Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is unhappy with the response at Churchill Downs after Declan Cannon was injured in a spill Saturday night.
“The ambulance was slow to get to him and, these are in Declan's words, that if he would have not been breathing he wouldn't have made it, do you know what I mean?" Stevens told Horse Racing Nation on Wednesday. "And they transferred him to this sort of ambulance, and when I say sort of, it's like a minivan, and then they took him to a different location and changed ambulances.”
Stevens said Cannon was recovering at his Louisville, Ky., home after the accident in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes left him with two fractured vertebrae in his back and chipped a vertebra in his neck. He was treated at University of Louisville Hospital and released Sunday afternoon.
Cannon was riding Rebel Red when the 5-year-old clipped heels with another runner and fell. According to Paulick Report, Rafael Bejarano also was thrown, and he tended to Cannon while waiting for medical assistance.
“The response time was horrible," Stevens said. "It's not just him. It's injuries in the morning to track workers, gallop boys and work riders. … Once they get them secured, they take them to the front stable gate and wait for another ambulance to come and transport them. So why that is, I don't know.”
Spokespersons for Churchill Downs were asked for comment but had not responded.
In a news release after the race, Churchill Downs explained what happened.
"Rebel Red appeared to clip heels with Missed the Cut, who veered out when Idratherbeblessed began to fade, and dropped rider Declan Cannon," the release said. "Tapit Shoes was unable to avoid the fallen horse and rider and dropped jockey Rafael Bejarano. Both horses went back to their barns. Bejarano returned to the jockey’s quarters. Cannon, who was alert and conscious, complained of back pain and was transported to University of Louisville Hospital for further evaluation."
Stevens said other tracks have better processes for addressing injuries.
“At Keeneland they have their own trauma room. The University of Kentucky has a trauma room with a full staff in there in an emergency situation, where they can get a rider stabilized before they're sent to UK. It's archaic, is what it is.”
As for Cannon, Stevens said, “He's in a neck collar for four weeks and two weeks of rehab. I spoke with him yesterday. He’s in great spirits.”
Stevens expects Cannon will be ready to ride for the start of the Ellis Park meet on July 3. “He was very fortunate, very fortunate. It was a nasty spill and nobody's fault really. Just a bad situation.”