Jockey Tyler Conner, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a spill at Colonial Downs July 24, said in a video message Aug. 4 that he is working to regain full feeling in all of his extremities and expressed appreciation for an outpouring of support.
"I broke my C1 (vertebra) and compression fractured my t5, bruised my spinal cord, which they call Central Cord Syndrome, so I was fully paralyzed for a small amount of time," the rider posted on X. "And everything's kind of slowly coming back. I could move my legs pretty quick, and started walking pretty soon. But again, like everything feels like it's asleep, especially my hands, and my left hand is basically useless at the moment. It really doesn't hardly work at all."
Conner was injured in the seventh race on July 24 at Colonial Downs when his mount, the Elizabeth Merryman-trained Stanza, clipped heels and fell around the far turn when his path was shut off by eventual race winner Montador. Following a stewards' inquiry, Montador, ridden by Francisco Arrieta, was disqualified and placed last.
Stewards later suspended Arrieta 15 days for what they determined to be "extremely careless" riding.
Wearing a neck brace and with his face swollen in an X video message, he expressed thanks to Hilary Pridham, assistant to trainer Mike Stidham, for organizing a GoFundMe fundraiser to aid in his recovery, and to those who have donated toward his recovery. As of 10 a.m. ET Aug. 5, nearly $61,000 had been raised.
"That really gets me through this tough time until I'm healthy again and can work and really puts me in an easier position for the next part of my life as for what's next," he said. "I really have no idea. I have zero desire to ride a racehorse again. I've been wanting to quit for years, and this gives me a good reason to now. I just got to focus on getting healthy and figure out what I want to do."
Conner grew up in a racing family in Lancaster, Pa., with his father a trainer at Penn National and his mother having worked as a jockey, racing official, and exercise rider. Conner began riding in 2014, and the following year he won 168 races. He registered 1,271 victories from 7,997 mounts over his career while primarily based in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast, notching four of those wins at the graded level.
