Krone Injures Back in Spill, Is Hospitalized

Julie Krone, the Hall of Fame jockey who has won 3,704 races despite a career frequently interrupted by serious injuries, was hospitalized with back injuries Friday night after having been tossed by one of her mounts earlier in the day at Hollywood Park.

Jay Hovdey, Krone’s husband, said his wife was experiencing pain in the chest and they were awaiting the reading of her X-rays by an orthopedic surgeon. According to a spokeswoman at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, near the track, Krone is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam today.

Krone suffered two compression fractures, plus two other broken bones in her lower back, in a spill at Santa Anita last March 8. She returned to the saddle four months later and in October became the first female jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race when she rode Halfbridled to victory in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

Another jockey injured in Friday’s spill, David Nuesch, was also treated at Centinela and released. Nuesch’s mount, Skidoo, broke down on the backstretch of the 7 1/2-furlong third race, about five furlongs from the finish. Krone’s mount, Clover Situation, running last in the five-horse field, stumbled over the fallen horse and Krone was flipped forward. She landed hard but did not lose consciousness and appeared to be talking as medics put her on a stretcher and loaded her into an ambulance.

Skidoo, a 4-year-old colt who had won for the first time in his ninth start at Hollywood Park on Nov. 19, broke his right foreleg and was euthanized. Clover Situation, who ran to his second -- and most recent -- victory with Krone aboard at Hollywood Park a year ago, was not injured.

The 40-year-old Krone is the leading rider at the Hollywood Park meet. She has 23 wins to 22 by Pat Valenzuela, who has called in sick the last three days because of flu. Despite all the time she missed earlier this year, Krone has ridden horses that have earned $8 million, which ranks her 18th nationally.

Krone ended a 3 1/2-year retirement when she resumed riding in November 2002.

Two years before, she had been inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In 1993, winning the Belmont Stakes with Colonial Affair, she became the first woman to ride a winner of a Triple Crown race. That summer, at Saratoga, Krone broke an ankle that required two plates and 14 screws to repair. She didn’t ride for nine months.

Another jockey, Ryan Fogelsonger, was injured in Friday’s eighth and final race. Riding Likely Prospect, Fogelsonger was unseated a couple of strides out of the gate. Fogelsonger’s agent, Michele Barsotti, said the jockey was complaining of shoulder pain and was to undergo X-rays Friday night.

*

Ruler’s Court, the early favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby at several Las Vegas racebooks, will miss the race because of a knee injury.

Simon Crisford, racing manager for Sheik Mohammed of Dubai, said that Ruler’s Court will miss the United Arab Emirates Derby in Dubai on March 27. That was to be a prep race for the Derby, which will be run on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

“All future plans are on hold,” Crisford said.

Ruler’s Court, who has won two of four starts after the sheik bought him as an unraced 2-year-old for $400,000, won the Norfolk Stakes by 14 lengths at Santa Anita on Oct. 5. Three weeks later, Ruler’s Court would have been one of the favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, but the sheik elected not to run him. The colt was returned to Dubai, where Sheik Mohammed’s Derby prospects have wintered.

There is no clear early favorite for the Derby. Because no horse dominated the division, Eclipse Award voters will be faced with a difficult choice when they vote for the best 2-year-old male in 2003.