Jockey Jean-Luc
Samyn, a fixture on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit, will
be sidelined approximately one month after cutting off two fingers, and
breaking another, in a snowblower accident.
Samyn, 54, was unclogging his snowblower on Monday, February 21, with
the power of the machine turned off, when the blade moved forward and cut off two-thirds
of the index and middle fingers on his right hand. He also fractured the ring
finger on his right hand in the incident.
“You have to look on the bright side,” said Samyn, who
hopes to return to riding in either late March or early April. “I am
fortunate that this didn’t end up being worse.”
The French native has won 2,611 races over the course of his 36-year
career, with more than $94 million in purses earned. He boasts more than 110
stakes victories in New York,
perhaps most notably riding John’s Call to wins in the Grade 1 Sword
Dancer Invitational and Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational, both in 2000.
Samyn, who has won two races at Aqueduct Racetrack this year, remained
upbeat despite the setback.
“This is actually good for my career, because I’m now
lighter,” he joked. “If trainers want a light jockey, they can ride
me.”