McCarron Out of Action for Six Months : Leading Rider Undergoes Three Hours of Surgery on Broken Leg

Chris McCarron, who suffered a broken leg in a five-horse spill Thursday at Santa Anita, underwent three hours of surgery Friday, and the surgeon said afterward that it will take four to five months for the injury to heal.

Dr. Douglas Garland, performing the surgery on McCarron at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey, used a screw and a plate to fuse four parts of the thigh bone that had been broken in the pile-up of horses and other jockeys.

It probably will be at least six months before McCarron is able to ride again. The injury will cost McCarron several mounts in the seven-race, $10-million Breeders’ Cup series at Santa Anita Nov. 1 and probably will also deprive the 31-year-old rider of his fourth national riding title.

McCarron, with $9 million in purses, led Jose Santos by about $500,000 through last Sunday. But Santos, besides riding in other stakes, has at least two top mounts--Groovy and Manila--in the Breeders’ Cup. At least two other riders--Gary Stevens and Pat Day--are also capable of passing McCarron on Breeders’ Cup day.

Terry Lipham, the other jockey seriously injured in Thursday’s accident, was listed in stable condition at Arcadia Methodist Hospital Friday. Lipham, 41, was riding Encolure, and they were the first participants to go down in the chain-reaction spill near the three-eighths pole.

Lipham, who underwent surgery Thursday night for removal of his spleen, also suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung. Encolure, who broke a leg, had to be destroyed.

The three other jockeys and four horses escaped with minor injuries. Two of the jockeys, Stevens and Rafael Meza, rode Friday at Santa Anita, but Laffit Pincay took the day off.

Horse Racing Notes Vernon Castle, who finished last in the Del Mar Handicap on Labor Day, carries top weight of 124 pounds today and spots nine opponents from 4 to 10 pounds in the $75,000 Volante Handicap at Santa Anita. . . . Hidden Light, one of the best 3-year-old fillies in the country, heads a seven-horse field Sunday in the $100,000 Las Palmas Handicap. Others running in the 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares are Mountain Bear, Darn It, Shywing, Outstandingly, Justicara and Scoot. . . . Phone Trick, who had been expected to challenge favored Groovy in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, has been retired after suffering a broken ankle in a workout Wednesday at Santa Anita. Phone Trick began his career with nine straight wins before he was beaten by Groovy in his last race, the Tom Fool at Belmont Park July 20. . . . Bold Arrangement, the English-bred colt who is scheduled to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, probably will stay in California to compete in the Hollywood Derby Nov. 16. In two United States appearances earlier this year, Bold Arrangement was third in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and second, 2 lengths behind Ferdinand, in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.