Breeders' Cup: Jockey John Velazquez undergoes emergency surgery

Breeders’ Cup: Jockey John Velazquez undergoes emergency surgery

John Velazquez celebrates after riding Union Rags to victory in the Belmont Stakes last year.

By John Cherwa

Nov. 2, 2013 4:14 PM PT

Jockey John Velazquez underwent emergency surgery Saturday afternoon to remove his spleen as the result of a spill he took in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race.

Velazquez was riding Secret Compass in the fourth race when the horse broke a front leg and went down. Velazquez was thrown forward to the ground.

The horse was euthanized on the track because her injury was not repairable.

Velazquez was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and was set to be released when doctors discovered internal bleeding.

He then was taken into surgery, according to a Santa Anita spokesman.

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John Cherwa

John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.

Breeders’ Cup: Jockey John Velazquez undergoes emergency surgery

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