Francisco Arrieta—who rode the horse that shut off one ridden by Tyler Conner, resulting in a fall and serious spinal injury for the latter jockey—has been suspended 15 days by the Colonial Downs stewards.
The suspension, announced July 26, will be served Aug 2-16. In the ruling, the stewards described Arrieta's actions as "extremely careless."
The incident occurred in a maiden turf sprint July 24 at the Virginia track. Replay sites have removed footage of the race. Conner, on the 3-year-old gelding Stanza, was advancing leaving the far turn when shut off by Arrieta aboard Montador, according to the Equibase chart.
Stanza clipped heels, stumbled, and fell. Montador won the race but was disqualified and placed last. Colonial canceled the remainder of the July 24 card.
Conner sustained a broken nose and a fractured C1 vertebra, the first vertebra under the skull. His girlfriend Lucy Houle posted the following on the social media platform X July 24.
"Thank you to everyone that has reached out. One thing is for sure, (Tyler) is very much loved. Right now he has a Jefferson fracture of C1, and a central cord injury. The doctor is optimistic that the swelling around his spinal cord will come down."
Houle—whose screen name on X is Lucy Conner, though they are not married, according to Conner's agent Paula Bacon—posted an update July 25.
"(Tyler) did some walking with assistance today and is getting the use of both arms back slowly. Like everything else he does, he is all in and trying so incredibly hard."
Conner remains in the intensive care unit at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and has been able to walk, Bacon said July 26.
"The lower part of his body is responding better than the upper part. His arms and hands are waking up a little slower than his legs did," Bacon, a former jockey, told BloodHorse. "All things considered, he is doing pretty well, and they expect him to fully recover. They just don't know how long it's going to take.
"His attitude is amazing. He's really in great spirits and thinking completely positively."
Conner, 31, has ridden 1,271 winners from 7,997 mounts, with earnings of $29,285,080. He has won 17 black-type stakes, including four graded wins, according to Equineline.
Arrieta has been riding in the United States since 2012 and has won 1,061 races, including 43 stakes and three graded victories. His mounts have earned $42,244,400.
