Saratoga: Walter Rodriguez is thrown in gate, taken to hospital

Jockey Walter Rodriguez was thrown in the gate shortly before the start of the fourth race on Saturday at Saratoga and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The incident occurred after the field of seven 3-year-olds had been loaded into the starting gate for the 6 1/2 furlong $32,000 claiming race. No. 4 Gabe acted up in his stall, startling nos. 5 Kupp and 6 One Giant Leap with Rodriguez in the irons.

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One Giant Leap, the favorite, appeared to rear up and then break through the gate, unseating Rodriguez in the stall before galloping off down the track. Kupp also broke through the gate moments later but was caught before he, too, could run off.

In a tweet, New York Racing Association spokesperson Keith McCalmont said that Rodriguez was "alert & moving all extremities" as he was loaded into an ambulance to be taken to Saratoga Hospital for evaluation.

Rodriguez's agent, Cliff Collier, told Horse Racing Nation via text that the rider had injured his leg and was undergoing further evaluation.

"Waiting for X-ray on leg," Collier said. "Hopefully just bruised at the gate. ... I did talk to Walter, and his leg is swollen. Besides that he is OK."

One Giant Leap was caught by an outrider and walked back to the barn, McCalmont said on Twitter.

Rodriguez, a native of El Salvador, learned the racing game from the ground up after approaching trainer Jose Corrales at the track around 2000 and asking for a job, according to a Thoroughbred Daily News profile.

Since riding his first winner on June 16, 2022, Rodriguez has ridden 99 winners from 625 starts for earnings of more than $3 million in purses, according to Equibase statistics.