OWNER INJURED SATURDAY AFTER INCIDENT AT EMERALD DOWNS

AUBURN, Wash. (June 25, 2011) – A chain reaction incident involving two horses near the paddock delayed action for over 20 minutes Saturday at Emerald Downs.

Prior to the third race, while heading up the ramp that connects the paddock to the racetrack, both Wiley Witch and Cahill’s Ride reared up and unseated their jockeys. The 3-year-old fillies then veered left and ran full speed up the horse path adjacent to the track, all the way to the stable area some 200 yards north. In the stables, Cahill’s Ride collided with Tony Schiro, a 69-year-old licensed owner who sustained a broken femur and possible head injuries.

Schiro was taken by ambulance to Auburn Regional Medical Center and later air lifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Wiley Witch, who arrived in the stables ahead of Cahill’s Ride, sustained multiple injuries after colliding with a tree, and was euthanized.

A.L. Gutierrez, the jockey thrown off Cahill’s Ride, escaped injury, while Leonel Camacho-Flores, the jockey on Wiley Witch, Flores was taken to Auburn Regional Medical Center where he was released after treatment for superficial scrapes and abrasions.

Cahill’s Ride sustained only minor injuries and was back in the barn of trainer Dan Markle.

The third race, reduced to a four-horse field, went off at 3:41 p.m., 23 minutes late, and was won by Chilsey and jockey Javier Matias.