Trainer/driver Eric Abbatiello, whose stable sends Moon Beam into Sunday's $390,000 Progress Pace, is out of intensive care but still hospitalized at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, as the result of injuries suffered in an October 24 accident at Freehold Raceway.
Abbatiello, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on Thursday, suffered multiple broken ribs, a punctured lung and collarbone and shoulder injuries.
"It's hard for him to get in and out of bed. He's trying to do a little therapy, and he's coming along," Abbatiello's mother, Marie, told Harness Racing Communications Wednesday. "He's lucky he didn't have more severe spine injuries or a neck injury. The spleen was bleeding for three or four days, but that receded. He's moving along. It just all takes time."
Abbatiello, the son of Hall of Famer Carmine Abbatiello, has 139 driving wins and a career-high $1.6 million in purses this year. He has 64 wins and $1.2 million in earnings as a trainer. He trained and drove Moon Beam to a third-place finish in the Art Rooney Pace earlier this season.
(HRC)