A horse jockey narrowly avoided disaster Sunday when he managed to hang on to his horse despite one of the stirrups breaking in the middle of the race.
Abel Lezcano was competing in the third race of the day at the Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois. On the first turn of the race, Lezcano’s body could be seen suddenly dropping on his right side. The broken stirrup caused him to lean so far to the right that from the left side, his body was completely concealed by the horse.
Somehow, Lezcano summoned enough strength to hold on to a horse in full gallop and finished the race.
You want pure athleticism, this is it right here! Watch as jockey Abel Lezcano has his right stirrup break in the first turn of race 3 @ClubHawthorne and somehow he manages to avert disaster and stay aboard. Pure strength and grit there! @TVG @PDJFund pic.twitter.com/ubkHYRei4Q
— Jim Miller (@HawthorneJim) August 20, 2023
“My plan from the start of the race was to get out in front,” Lezcano said in an interview with BloodHorse. “That was the plan, and in the first turn, I felt my foot going down. I was in shock; the stirrups were new, so I didn’t understand how or why it was breaking.
“I started falling and knew I had only three options. If I let go of the horse and fall, it will go on without me, but it could hurt other jockeys and horses behind me. Possibly the horse could get hurt if I let go; he could fall while he was loose. The second option was that if I fell with the horse, it could be bad for me and the horse. The third option was to hold on for dear life and pray that God would give me the strength to pull myself back on.”
Lezcano later reiterated that point on Twitter.
“Thank God I’m only sore but glad didn’t fall or hurt anybody. By the grace of the lord I’m here and will continue working hard.”
Thank God I’m only sore but glad didn’t fall or hurt anybody. By the grace of the lord I’m here🙏🏼 and will continue working hard 🙏🏼🙌🐎💪🏽 https://t.co/Sjcq7yIcfX
— Abel Lezcano (@AbelLezcano_507) August 20, 2023
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