Hall of Fame rider Scott Stevens did not get the verdict he was hoping for on his injured knee when he arrived in Phoenix following the Canterbury Park meet, and that means he will miss the opening day of the meet at Turf Paradise for the first time since he started racing there in 1992.
Stevens believed there was a good chance he would need only arthroscopic surgery on the knee to repair damage inflicted following a race at Canterbury. Stevens drove nonstop from Shakopee to Phoenix when the meet ended Labor Day to make an 11 a.m. appointment on Thursday.
He reached Phoenix with time to spare, arriving late Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t get the news he hoped for the following day.
The meniscus in the knee was damaged worse than thought and he will require a replacement ACL ligament as well. “They’ll clean up the meniscus as well as they can and replace the ACL (from a cadaver),” Stevens said.Stevens, a three-time riding champ at Canterbury, finished sixth in the standings with 34 wins, 25 seconds, 41 thirds and earnings of $569,702 from 243 mounts during the 2008 meet. He will be sidelined approximately four months following the surgery late this month.
