Alysheba...Chelokee
 

Giant Gizmo wins, Chelokee breaks down in stretch, vanned off..right front condylar

That didn't look good at all.....

My thoughts and prayers are with him and his connections...Another rough luck patch for Matz and co.

Bramlage compared it to Barbaro's injury except in a different leg :(

Dominguez got lucky no one was behind him

Terrible news....

Is the track becoming unsafe???

I don't think the slop caused the bad step.

Is Matz?

Not at all, I think he just took a bad step as he turned for home....

It's pretty sloppy. It looked like Chelokee took a bad step or hit a bad spot, it happened really fast. Poor Michael Matz

Or had a previously injured leg reinjured? Horses take bad steps when their legs break, not vice versa.

chelokee
 

Just read the chart from the 8th that he Broke Down... any news? good, hopefully... thanks.

not what I was wanting to hear...

Some cautiously good news about Chelokee, per ESPN, they set his ankle and he is walking on the leg and is on his way to surgery.

Sad news, I hope he makes it.

Chelokee
 

Any info on Chelokee? From the video feed it looked like he slipped, and didn't break down in the 8th. Hopefully he and his rider are OK

Edwards said on ESPN that they're cautiously optimistic, and that he's standing and walking with some kind of splint right now, I believe. Won't be sure whether they can perform surgery until they do some more tests.

Byk said that Chelokee is being taken to Rood and Riddle for possible surgery.

Chelokee had a ton of gas in the tank and was dragging Ramon up onto Wanderin Boy's heels. He had no place to go and I'm not sure if they clipped heels or he took a bad step when Ramon took him up. It almost appeared that Ramon bailed.

It didnt look AT ALL like Ramon bailed. It looks like the horse broke down and he lost his balance. Ramon didnt bail.

After the horse broke down it looked like Ramon wanted out, so I think he semi bailed but that was not the problem as it was after the step.

Looked like he bailed to me too, but I could be wrong.

Poor Matz. for this to happen to him again so soon, it is just so rough. I hope the horse is ok. My prayers are for both Matz and Chelokee....

Chuck elaborate if you would on this please for folks like me who don't make their living in this business. I know didly squat about training a T-Bred but am curious as to what you base this comment on.

The track surface seems to get the blame everytime a horse breaks down unless it is Baffert or Lukas.

Generally when a horse breaks down and the rider comes off, if the break is in a front leg, the jock falls forward as the damaged limb is unable to support the weight of the horse and the forward momentum. Ramon shot upward and to the inside. (I sound like the guy analyzing the Zapruder film.)

Just fell off my horse on Wednesday because of a stumble. Luckily both of us were ok. A little sore where I hit the ground but it could have been worse. We were cantering around a ring. I couldn't even imagine being in a little racing saddle and at top speed doing that.

Best wishes to Matz and crew.

I fell off the guy in my avatar pic last winter. He stumbled (badly) as is his wont and I gently tumbled to the ground. I would have been fine but for my iron hitting me in the face, leaving me with a fractured "orbital bone." This is known in some neighborhoods as "busting up your face."

He stumbled up front and I pitched forward and to the right, (Cue the Zapruder film) forward, and to the right...

Hitting my horse (in my avatar also) with my shoulder on the way down helped me land a bit more gracefully, but the every other curse word coming out of my mouth helped stop it from being too graceful. Luckily he stopped just short of stepping on me when I landed. Being a cattle roper in his younger years I guess helped me out in that respect. ANYTIME I come off once my body starts the swing out of the saddle he IMMEDIATELY comes to a dead stop.

Sorry about your "busting up your face".

In my neighborhood its called

chit. that hurts like the devil...

It looked.....
 

Terrible, thoughts and prayers going out to Matz and the owners. Very sad situation.:(

Update...

Chelokee Update: No Fracture

http://racing.bloodhorse.com/article/45024.htm

Centennial Farms’ Chelokee, injured during the May 2 Alysheba Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs, sustained a dislocated ankle and not a fracture, according to trainer Michael Matz.

“It was just a dislocated ankle that was put back in order,” Matz said May 3, on the morning of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Matz will saddle Visionaire in the Derby. “The skin was not broken which is a good thing, and there was heat below the articulation, which means there is blood flow. The ankle will probably have to be fused. He had a good night. He ate and layed down and got up several times.”

Initially, it was believed that Chelokee had suffered a condylar fracture similar to that sustained by Matz-trained Barbaro in last year’s Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Barbaro eventually was euthanized due to the effects of laminitis.

Matz said Dr. Larry Bramlage would examine the 4-year-old Cherokee Run colt Saturday to determine the exact extent of the injury.

Chelokee, who went off as the second choice at odds of 2-1, was running fourth in the race before he took a bad step and fell at the top of the stretch. Jockey Ramon Dominguez was examined at the track first-aid station and cleared to return to the jockeys' room.

“He was traveling absolutely perfect," Dominguez said. "I had the best horse in the race. I was just trying to pick my spot and as soon as he got to the top of the lane, he switched to his right lead and broke down. There was absolutely no contact.”

The race was won by Giant Gizmo, who went off at 5-1, scored his first stakes victory in the Alysheba.

----

Sounds more promising than initially reported. Here's hoping for the best.

thanks for posting that. Here's hoping for a full recovery