Being a Jockey is Nothing to Horse Around With

Rene Douglas was the leading rider at Arlington Park for the past several years. He's ridden in all of the Triple Crown Races, winning the Belmont in 1996. He's ridden in Breeder's Cup races.

And his career likely came to an end Saturday in a minor stakes race. Douglas was on Born to Be, and at the top of the stretch, the horse clipped heels with another horse and fell. The way the horse fell, Douglas ended up underneath the horse and was trapped until track personnel got him out. The long and short of it is, right now he's paralyzed in the lower legs and may never walk again, let alone ride horses.

Now everyone has seen Seabiscuit, and how Red Pollard came back from a devastating injury to ride again after doctors told him he wouldn't. But that was just a broken leg.

Douglas' prognosis won't be clear until some swelling clears, so it's possible that Douglas will be lucky enough to walk. I hope he does (even though he's cost me some money!) Just kidding of course. He was a very, very skilled rider. He wasn't on many longshots because he was such a good rider, and people knew it. When he was on a longer shot though, I was never surprised to see him bring home a winner.

He will be sorely missed among the Arlington jockey colony, and on the national scene as well.

These kind of injuries, though, really prove how dangerous horse racing is. Think about it. Horses weigh anywhere from 1000-1200 pounds, and jockeys weigh about 10% of that. These animals move at about 35 miles per hour in tight quarters. It's amazing there aren't alot more serious injuries that there are. For both horse and rider, it's a very dangerous game.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Rene and his family, and my wishes for a speedy recovery.