HISA seeks racetracks’ advice to improve reaction to rider spills

Responding to three incidents late last month when fallen jockeys did not get proper attention after spills, the head of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority said racetrack leaders nationwide would be surveyed to come up with long-term solutions.

“We decided to send a letter today to all racetracks that are currently running asking them to share with us what their protocols are for jockey injuries during a race,” CEO Lisa Lazarus said after a mental-health and wellness symposium presented Tuesday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., by HISA and the Jockeys’ Guild.

Flatter: Jockeys should not be taken for granted.

The matter was raised to Lazarus to find out how HISA reacted to spills that injured Abel Cedillo on July 23 at Del Mar, John Velázquez last Wednesday at Saratoga and Andre Worrie and Óscar Gómez last Tuesday and Wednesday at Finger Lakes. Emergency medical technicians hesitated before reacting to the accidents at Del Mar and Finger Lakes. Velázquez had to walk on his own to the first-aid station at Saratoga when a new ambulance driver did not have the right directions.

Lazarus said HISA wanted to go beyond written procedure and spread the word about the right way for EMTs to react to accidents.

“In particular what the training and experience is of the personnel that are inside the emergency vehicles,” she said. “I think if you look at some of the similarities from these instances, my concern is that the emergency personnel are not specially trained. You can have the best policies and rules in the world, but the people in the vehicles don’t know what to do. You’re not going to get the outcome you want, and that’s something that we have to focus on.”

During the symposium at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Lazarus was one of the speakers who discussed the importance of addressing mental-health challenges for jockeys.

“I don’t think we could have anticipated just the intensity and just the really deep issues that are present that need to be addressed in our industry that jockeys face and that probably all riders face, but especially jockeys,” Lazarus said.

She underscored the experiences that were shared Tuesday by the mother of Avery Whisman and the sister of Alex Canchari. Whisman, 23, a jockey who was based in the Mid-Atlantic region, and Canchari, 29, who competed at Canterbury Park and Oaklawn, died by suicide last winter. Their deaths cast new light on the physical, mental and emotional demands that jockeys uniquely face every day.

“Hearing from the families of Avery and Alex, it really shows that we need to come up with specific programs and specific initiatives that are going to address these issues,” Lazarus said.

Lazarus said HISA would work with the health-care company NovaCare to provide riders with low-cost medical examinations and would spearhead a new database to keep track of jockeys’ head injuries.

Current and former riders Trevor McCarthy, Richard Migliore and Eurico Rosa Da Silva and Jockeys’ Guild CEO Terry Meyocks also were among the speakers during Tuesday’s three-hour symposium.

Horse Racing Nation’s Andrew Capone at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., contributed to the reporting for this story.