Miguel Mena, the leading jockey at the ongoing Fair Grounds meet with 55 wins, figures to miss substantial time after being diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right ankle and heel following a spill in Thursday's eighth race.

Mena's agent, Richie Price, said it was too early to establish even a rough timetable for Mena's rehab and return to riding. The swelling in the affected nearly needs to subside before a fuller evaluation can take place, and Price said Mena is scheduled to see a specialist late next week. Mena was told, Price said, he could miss up to six months because of the injury.

Another rider in the incident, Kerwin Clark, has a broken jaw, at least one broken rib, and a collapsed lung, according to his agent, Charles Ashy Jr. Clark was riding Ellashoo when his pace-setting mount broke down catastrophically on the far turn. Mena's horse, A Fashion Affair, collided Ellashoo after she went down, as did Queen Bernardina. Her rider, Gabriel Saez, escaped consequential injury, as did A Social Affair and Queen Bernardina.