‘Things Can Change Really Fast’: Tyler Conner Plans A Future Without Riding Following Colonial Downs Race Injury

[Wandering Eyes]

Eleven weeks ago, jockey Tyler Conner lay on the turf at Colonial Downs calm, but for all the wrong reasons.

“I couldn't feel anything,” he said. “I was totally calm which was weird but it was because I wasn't in any pain.”

Conner was involved in an incident in the seventh race in Virginia July 24 when his mount, the Elizabeth Merryman-trained Stanza (Great Notion), clipped heels with eventually-disqualified race winner Montador (Nyquist) and fell around the far turn. Francisco Arrieta, who was aboard Montador, was suspended 15 days by the stewards for actions which were noted as “extremely careless”.

Time has given Conner a bit of perspective about the fall itself.

“My career is over because of this,” he said. “It is what it is but it was also totally avoidable. [I] can't change it now and I'm not going to hold grudges. It's what happens [in this sport].”

Conner was airlifted from the track in New Kent to Virginia Commonwealth Hospital in nearby Richmond, VA where he remained until returning home to Pennsylvania for further treatment. Now, 11 weeks after the fall, Conner is still working on his recovery, a process which will take upwards of at least another year, and planning for a future without race riding.

“There's no guarantee that I fully recover,” he admitted. “It's up to my body and it's just time at this point. There's a lot of pain in my neck and my back. A lot of my left arm is pretty much asleep. I can use it, but the little things are very hard to do. Things like tying your shoes. Doing anything quickly is tough. Turning around, anything where you could lose your balance. Things you don't think are that hard to do! ”

Shortly after the fall, Conner announced his retirement from riding but has still spent the second half of summer at the track, watching daily training at Penn National.

“I go the racetrack every day to hang out. The horses are always there [for you] and that's what's important. I love the game and I love the horses,” Conner said, adding that a career in the industry is still his long-term plan. “I'm probably going to be an agent. I've had some people reach out, saying that they would be interested in working with me. I want to try and make a positive impact.”

And while his riding career may have been cut short, Conner emphasized that helping his fellow jockeys, especially those in similar situations to his own, was paramount. He recently shared the GoFundMe for Carol Cedeno who was injured herself in a serious fall during a race at the Monmouth at the Meadowlands meet Sept. 27.

“I've had an overwhelming amount of support,” Conner said of the industry's help and of his own GoFundMe which has raised north of $70,000. “I've been blown away with the support I've gotten from the riders and the [Jockeys] Guild. They've been in touch a lot and have helped me whether it's with doctors or things like that. HISA has been good. Dr. Peter Hester, who is part of HISA, he has been very, very good. He's helped me with whatever I needed and put me in touch with the Miami Project. The donations from tracks all over the country has been really unexpected and a huge help. I'm really appreciative of everyone that's helped me. But there's a lot of other riders [who] have gotten hurt since me. There's a lot of people that need help.”

Conner noted that he recently split a fundraiser with a fellow rider, making sure half the funds went to riders who he felt may not have gotten the same level of acknowledgment or assistance.

“Sometimes we get in [bad] situations [in this game],” he said. “I always want to try and help if I can. [All of the jockeys] deserve our support.”

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