Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens will undergo hip replacement surgery
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Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens will undergo surgery to have his left hip replaced next Wednesday at St. John’sHospital in Santa Monica. Winner of more than 5,000 races in North America and a three-time Kentucky Derby winner, the 53-year-old native of Caldwell, Idaho is optimistic things will go well and he eventually can resume his riding career.
“I’m looking forward to getting the old hip out of there and a new one in,” Stevens said Thursday morning at Clockers’ Corner. “I’ve never had any issues on my left side. It’s sort of been the workhorse all of my life.
“I had Perthes disease (a degenerative ailment) in my right hip as a little kid (at age seven) and then the bad knee and everything, and this thing’s always done all the work, but when it went there was no warning, no nothing. About five months ago it started bugging me, and it seemed like overnight it went south and I knew something wasn’t right. Then when I got the X-rays I knew why.”
Asked if he would continue to ride if all went well, Stevens said, “It’s something I’m going to evaluate. It’s too early to say. Even with the outcome (of the surgery), I have to make some decisions. Even if I don’t return to ride competitively, I want to be able to get on horses and be in comfort, but I really don’t know, because this came as such a jolt.
“I was looking forward to opening day at Santa Anita and possibly riding Mor Spirit in the Malibu. When I saw the doctor, I literally was looking to get a routine injection. I’m sitting there and the doctor says, ’I’ve got a space available next Wednesday,” and I said, ‘For what?’ and he said, ‘replacement. Your hip is gone.’ Then he showed me the X-rays, and I was by myself. My wife (Angie) wasn’t with me.
“He said I could book the surgery date but I said I wanted to talk with my wife first. I did, and when I called her, she said, ‘Just do it.’ When the doctor came back, I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
FINISH LINES: B. Wayne Hughes, owner of recently retired three-time champion Beholder, was a Clockers’ Corner visitor Thursday and reported the soon-to-be seven-year-old mare doing well at his Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky where she will be bred to Uncle Mo this spring. “I see her every morning and she’s got herself a partner (in another mare),” Hughes said. “They’ve bonded and they can’t get more than two feet from each other. I’m happy and she’s happy. She’s done everything perfectly.” . . . Santa Anita, which will offer a $1 million guaranteed Late Pick 4 on opening day, also will offer $300,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 pools on Thursdays, Fridays and holiday Mondays (except Opening Day) throughout the Winter/Spring Meet, as well as a guaranteed $500,000 Late Pick 4 and $100,000 Pick 6 on weekends (except Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5).
Source: Santa Anita Park
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