Monmouth leading rider Paco Lopez hospitalized after spilll

Jockey Paco Lopez, Monmouth Park’s leading rider, was taken by ambulance to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., for X-rays and evaluation after suffering an apparent right elbow injury in a spill in the 10th race on Saturday’s card, according to Dr. Angelo Chinnici, the track’s medical director.

Lopez, whose 31 winners at the meet are more than double that of his next closest competitor, went down after his mount, Pretendant, appeared to clip heels in tight quarters midway through the final turn of the 1 1/16-mile race.

Pretendant was in the middle of a condensed pack with four other horses when the colt appeared to clip heels with Bob In Our Midst.

Lopez, seeking a seventh riding title at Monmouth Park, also leads all riders in earnings this meet with $1,377,980. He began riding in 2007 and has ridden 2,840 winners with total purse earnings of more than $100 million.