According to track publicity, jockey Keith Asmussen has returned to the saddle following serious injuries suffered in a riding mishap June 1 at Churchill Downs. Asmussen has been galloping horses for his Hall of Fame father, Steve, this week at the Louisville, Ky., track, per Kevin Kerstein of Churchill Downs Inc.'s Kentucky publicity team.
Keith fractured his left femur and three ribs, and he indicated he would need surgery, according to a social media post from the rider shortly after the incident. He added that he had right lower lung contusions and hemopneumothorax, a pressure-causing condition often caused by chest trauma in which blood and air enter the cavity that exists between the lungs and underneath the chest wall.
Keith's mount, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Singsational, was jostled between horses and squeezed back at the start before the horse clipped a rival's hind heels and fell as the field raced down the backstretch.
