Jockeys

[Buddha]

With the accident they had at Turfway and the condition of Michael Rowland, I first want to say that my prayers are with him and his family.

If anyone doesnt know about Rowland, he went down, had surgery and they say he has brain damage, is on life support, and may not make it. His agent says `It's not looking good,'' Greenfield said. ``But from what I've heard, even the best case scenario is not going to be really good.''

It also got me thinking about the spill at Beulah I think on either Dec 7 or Dec 8 in which Ramon Luna and Orlando O'Farrill went down. Ramon has since come back to riding, but I know Orlando was in the hospital in critical condition, and they had the possibility that he may not make it. I was just wondering if anyone knows what happened to him? Did he make it or did he happen to pass?

[kenwoodallpromos]

I do not know about those spills, but your thread makes me wonder how good the helmets really are?

[Buddha]

The helmet can only protect so much, and if a 1000 pound horse is barrelling down on your head, i don't think a helmet will help that much. I know of a jockey that was saved by a vest before. His horse slipped into the rail, and the rail went right into his vest, and just broke his skin. Without the vest, the rail would have more than likely been through him, so it isn't all worthless equipment.

[Shacopate]

I'm gonna try to post the link to the Courier Journal story.

www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2004/02/07/spt-front-jock0207-9081.html

[depalma13]

Gary Stevens is alive today because of a helmet. If he wasn't wearing it in the Arlington million, I doubt he would have survived.

[Buddha]

Yes, I think for general purposes, the helmets are safe, and I read an article where Kentucky is going to try to get better/safer ones. I think there general use is for contact with the ground and some potential kicks. I don't think they could make a helmet that would save you if you got stepped square on the helmet. It is the nature of the game. There is always going to be a chance at injury no matter how much protection you have.