Racing fans have for years known the jockey as Lori Keith. She has long been a fan favorite. Easily approachable by young fans inspired by her skills. She is now Lori Biehler, married to trainer Mike Biehler. Wednesday evening looked promising for Lori, having won race four aboard Rasmus by 9 1/2 lengths.
“Things were going well, until this,” she said. The British have a knack for understatement.
‘This’ was an accident in race five that saw her mount Perfect Spring fall and Lori tumble hard to the turf course. Perfect Spring clipped heels with eventual second-place finisher Loyal and True. Metaphor was trailing the field and dislodged Ruben Fuentes while avoiding the fallen horse and rider. Fuentes escaped unscathed as did the horses. Lori did not.
“I saw what was happening before it happened,” Lori said. There was just no time to change the course of events. “There wasn’t enough room for both of us.”
She was transported to the hospital with several broken bones in her foot. Her wrist appeared worse than it was. “It got trampled on I guess. It was very swollen but I have full motion,” she said. She also has what she describes as whiplash in her neck and back. “I guess I landed on my head,” she said.
It will now be one day at a time; maybe six weeks until she gets on a horse again. “I feel better today,” Lori said Saturday morning. “I got good news. I don’t need surgery so that’s really good. They put a cast on my foot. I’ll return in three weeks to have it removed and I’m sure they’ll take more [x-rays].”
It might be a couple of days before she returns to Mike’s barn.
Lori has been injured before during a career that began in 2005 at Hollywood Park in Southern California. She knows the process.
“It’ll heal,” she said. “We’ll be alright.”
