Jockey Marquez ‘Serious’ After Santa Anita Spill; Hawley Also Hospitalized

Veteran jockey Carlos Marquez was listed in “serious” condition at an Arcadia hospital late Wednesday night after being thrown from his horse during the day’s feature race at Santa Anita.

Marquez, who earlier had been listed as “critical but stable,” was still unconscious seven hours after being brought into the emergency room at Methodist Hospital of Southern California, but doctors said the 44-year-old Cuban-born rider’s condition was gradually improving.

“When he came in, he could not move his left side at all,” said Dr. Russell Maatz, the hospital’s director of emergency services. “Now he’s able to move all his extremities, but he’s still not responding to verbal commands.”

Maatz said CAT scans showed that Marquez had suffered “an intercerebral hemorrhage, not apparently large” and that the jockey also had “some neck fractures.”

The mishap occurred during the eighth race as the horses were turning for home in the 1 1/8-mile La Puente Stakes on the grass course. Marquez’s mount, Alydad, stumbled and fell, dismounting the jockey. Serious Play, ridden by Sandy Hawley, swerved to avoid the fallen Alydad, and Hawley, too, was thrown and injured.

Marquez and Hawley were brought to the emergency room at 5:12 p.m., minutes after the spill in the $66,500 stake.

Both were treated by Dr. Paul Neiby, with Marquez also being attended by Dr. David Maline, a neurosurgeon.

Maatz said late Wednesday of Marquez: “He’s undergoing some more CAT scans right now in order for us to get better views of the area where the injury occurred.”

Hawley, a three-time national riding champion who turned 37 Wednesday, was admitted to the hospital, but the injuries to his chest and ribs were described as less serious.

Marquez, from Havana, has done most of his riding in the East, especially Florida. He has 16 winners in the current Santa Anita meeting.