It has been announced that perennial western New York driving leader Kevin Cummings will not return to the race bike until 2019.
Cummings’ absence from the bike is due to an accident that he was involved in late last week at Batavia Downs.
While driving in the first race on Friday night (Dec. 7), Cummings’ horse made a break, which caused the horse directly behind to collide into him. Cummings was hit on the left side of his back by the horse that was racing at full speed. The two horses became entangled, but were brought to a stop in the clubhouse turn just past the half.
Cummings and the driver of the other horse, Mike Caprio (who also became unseated), were evaluated on site immediately after the track was cleared. Caprio returned to drive the remainder of the night, however Cummings was sent for further medical evaluation.
Examination in the hospital determined that Cummings had sustained three broken ribs, torn cartilage and internal bleeding. He was sent home and is in the process of healing under the care of his personal physician.
Given the severity of his injuries, Cummings has estimated his time away from the sulky to be two to three months.
“I always wear my safety vest under my colours. It’s paid off in the past and it certainly paid of Friday. If I didn’t have that thing on I would have crushed my entire rib cage and had extensive organ damage,” said Cummings. “I always tell the young guys to make sure they use theirs because you never know when you are going down.”
Cummings, who is a four-time dash champion at Batavia Downs, is currently second in the standings this year with 102 wins and had a legitimate shot at taking a fifth title. This season has seen him earn over $1.2 million in purses, which is the tenth straight year he has gone over the million-dollar mark.
For his career, Cummings has won 3,820 races and over $17 million in earnings.
Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing Cummings a speedy and complete recovery from his injuries.
(Batavia Downs)