Parker Buckley comes to grief at Saratoga

[olympicdreams04]

Parker Buckley, upstate native and brother to Jonathan Buckley, was dropped on Oklahoma this morning and suffered a catastrophic head injury. That is all that I can say at this point.

[Linny]

Horribly sad. The local paper has this...

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...storyID=712924

[Glimmerglass]

I saw the Times Union article before I came to the BB - my thoughts and prayers are with all concerned

The reports of a medically induced coma do not look good; where as the BloodHorse/DRF said initial after the fall he was initially alert when taken away from there its become worse.

[Gallop Girl]

OMG. This is shocking news! How awful. I knew Parker when he was riding in Finger Lakes but didn't know what he was doing after he was down in Tampa last winter. My prayers are with his family. So sad.

[knowonder]

Sending prayers for the Parker and his family. My h/j trainer suffered this same type of injury warming up a horse over a 2 ft vertical in Ocala. Immediatley after the accident he was able to answer basic questions and tell the paramedics what happened, but was unresponsive by the time they got him to the hospital and ultimately passed away.

I pray that Parker will turn the corner and make a full recovery.

[Louise]

My prayers will be with him.

[Glimmerglass]

I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but regarding Parker here was an article within the hour from the Times Union I believe he will not recover ..

Doctors at Albany Medical Center were waiting for the parents of Parker Buckley, 40, to arrive from their home in Kentucky so he could be taken off life support, according to the ex-agent for the former Finger Lakes jockey.

"It's really hit me right now," the agent, Jeff Smith, said in a phone interview with the Times Union. "A young kid like that, who looked like the bill of health, it's unreal."

[Gallop Girl]

Just heard that Parker passed away. Prayers for the family. Such a shame

[Glimmerglass]

Gallop Girl, you are sadly correct. They (his family and the medical staff) took him off life support and he has passed away.

'Saratoga exercise rider dies after injury'

NYRA will soon be issuing a short statement about Buckley's death.

With sympathies to his family.

[Glimmerglass]

From the Daily Racing Form

Parker Buckley III, a former jockey who had worked as an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen, died Tuesday morning at Albany Medical Center due to complications from a riding accident he was involved in Monday at Saratoga. He was 40.

Buckley, a jockey from 1988 to 2007, rode 947 winners from 7,308 starters and his horses earned $9,215,235. Asmussen said that Buckley began working for him around Kentucky Derby time in 2007.

"Parker was a great guy,'" Asmussen said Tuesday."`I met him in 1987 at Birmingham Race Course. I never met anybody who didn't like him. He was loved by everybody who worked with him. He was an all-around great guy."

From this afternoon's Saratogian

Buckley, who was reportedly conscious right after the fall, was first taken to Saratoga Hospital, then flown to Albany where a CT scan revealed blood on the brain and doctors placed him in a medically-induced coma.

"I never met anybody who didn't like him," Asmussen said Tuesday, after visiting with Buckley's family in Albany. "I can say without hesitation, he's a great guy. Last winter he called me from Tampa and said he was going to quit riding.

"He's worked for me ever since."

Monday's accident occurred sometime between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Asmussen declined to name the horse Buckley was riding and said he did not personally witness the fall.

"I've heard all kinds of versions," he said.

Asmussen visited Buckley's mother, sister and an aunt on Tuesday morning at the hospital. The rider's parents live in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Asmussen hired Buckley last year, but has known him since 1987 when they first met at Birmingham Race Course.

"He had some pretty good wins during his career," he said. "I'm not sure if he won any titles, but I think he was close a couple times."

Buckley had 947 wins and spent most of his riding career at Finger Lakes Race Track near Rochester.

"I'm in disbelief," said Jeff Smith, Buckley's former agent. "I had him his last two years at Finger Lakes and at Tampa Bay Downs. We lived together in Florida. He was a stand-up guy, clean cut, never drank. He took care of himself. He'd do anything for the horses. Something like this, it's terrible."

Buckley was in an accident at Finger Lakes on July 20, 2005 and was also hurt at Hoosier Park in 1990.

"He was very well liked," Finger Lakes Racing Secretary Joe Colasacco said. "He was just out here about two weeks ago. He visited. He raced here for about five years. He was always in the top five to 10 riders and he went to Tampa every winter."

New York Racing Association released no additional information on the accident.

"The New York Racing Association was deeply saddened to learn that Parker Buckley passed away this morning," spokesman John Lee said. "Our sympathies go out to his family."

Buckley is the first racing-related fatality at Saratoga since assistant trainer Elizabeth Russello was killed when jogging a horse on the Oklahoma track on Sept. 19, 1996.

[Lori B]

Very sorry for the loss of a well-regarded horseman, which it sounds like he was.

Was he wearing a helmet? Sorry, have to ask.

[pinkdiamondracing]

Very sorry for the loss of a well-regarded horseman, which it sounds like he was.

Was he wearing a helmet? Sorry, have to ask.

Of course Lori -- he was wearing a helmet... You are not allowed to gallop on a recognized race track without a helmet and in most places a vest.

[Lori B]

I didn't make any assumptions either way. Thank you for the clarification.

[dressagetraks]

How tragic. Prayers for his family.

[pozerod]

Such sad news. My deepest condolences go out to his extended family and to all of his friends in this time of their sorrow. Things happen. We all know as horsemen/women that there is always that possibility - yet, we do it because it is what we love. I also knew him from Finger Lakes. Well, see you later on the other side Parker, you went out doing what you loved doing and were very good at ... what a nice dude, dang it ... everyone - hold dear and hug you loved ones, because - well - you just NEVER know ...

[Glimmerglass]

While the last death by an exercise rider was 12 years at Saratoga it hasn't been a profession without many others who have been injured. Working with spirited 2-yr olds isn't without risks that everyone, even a non horse person, can comprehend.

Times Union 8-20-08 "Spa exercise rider knew the risks of job"

The atmosphere was somber on the Saratoga backside Tuesday following news of the rider's death, but the exercise riders continued their daily tasks, putting their lives on the line for the love of the horses and the sport they support.

Anyone who takes to the saddle aboard a thoroughbred racehorse wonders not if he'll get hurt, just where and when. Broken collarbones, snapped ribs, concussions and punctured lungs are hazards of the job.

But still they ride. Valerie Buck, a 42-year-old exercise rider for leading trainer Todd Pletcher, spent 16 months on the sidelines starting in 1997, when a horse broke down and flipped on top of her. She fractured four vertebrae, separated a shoulder, broke a wrist and punctured a lung. But as soon as she could manage, she was back in the saddle.

Her mounts this year include Travers starter Harlem Rocker; last year, she galloped 3-year-old champion filly Rags to Riches.

"It's addictive to ride those good horses," she said. "You get to the top and it's hard to take a step back down again. It's a passion for a lot of us. It's not about the money for me, it's about loving what I do. These horses are entrusted to us, we're in charge of caring for them, and it's hard just to turn your back and walk away from them."

As cited in the Saratoga thread, while Parker was the regular exercise rider for Pyro, the Travers Stakes contender, who did work that morning it has been reported another rider worked Pyro that day. The horse Parker was aboard (as if it matters) has not been disclosed nor will it likely be.

[QHJockee]

THat's correct, each and every one of us who gets on a horse, race or pleasure, take inherient risks any time we go near a horse. We accept it and most of us don't think aobut it or talk about it.

Parker is the 2nd one I can think of to die as a result of a riding injury on the track in the last few months. Hoagy Brown, who spent years around LA and recently KY died in June a week after he went down at Keeneland. Last year he had a fall which resulted in brain surgery and was only released to ride a month or 2 before his fatal fall. Tragedies but these days just getting out of bed can be harmful.

How successful was Shoemaker on the track, and he was paralyzed in an auto rollover? Jockeys Jerri Nichols and Lucy Burch were both killed in car accidents last year. Another Louisiana jock, Jeffrey Birmingham, crushed his pelvis in an accident at his home.

This is a very sad day for racing. I have heard several rumors about what happened but no one may ever know the truth about this accident.

[Reds-n-Greys]

My sincerest condolences to his family and all who had the pleasure of knowing him. It sounds like he was one of "the good guys".

[event1]

FYI-Hoagy Brown did not have a fall at Keeneland...he had a brain aneurysm while on a horse at Trackside in Louisville. He too-came off-was conscience-taken to the hospital and then took a turn for the worse. I also heard that was the same scenario for Parker-both great guys-RIP.

[QHJockee]

FYI-Hoagy Brown did not have a fall at Keeneland...he had a brain aneurysm while on a horse at Trackside in Louisville. He too-came off-was conscience-taken to the hospital and then took a turn for the worse. I also heard that was the same scenario for Parker-both great guys-RIP.

My bad, my husband told me Hoagy went down and that was what caused the TBI. Can't trust those DH's.