Apprentice rider Jose Ortiz was scheduled to be released from North Shore University Hospital
Monday afternoon after an overnight stay following a spill in Sunday
afternoon’s eighth race at Belmont
Park.
According to the NYRA Jockey Advocate, CT Scans and X-rays were
negative on Ortiz, with the exception of a bruised lung.
“We won’t rush into anything,” said Ortiz’s
agent, Mike Gonzalez, regarding when he might return to the races. “We
will find out more from the doctors and go from there.”
Ortiz, the brother of jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., was unseated when his
mount, Destination Moon, clipped heels with another horse at the half-mile
pole. Destination Moon, a 3-year-old daughter of Golden Missile trained by Hall
of Famer H Allen Jerkens, appeared uninjured in the incident.
In 2012, Ortiz has ridden 44 winners from 350 starters.