The Player will undergo surgery Monday at the Louisiana State University equine hospital in an attempt to repair his broken right front leg. The Player fractured both right front sesamoids, bones in the ankle joint, during the running of the New Orleans Handicap on Saturday at Fair Grounds. 

The Player was pulled up on the far turn by jockey Calvin Borel, splinted, and vanned back to trainer and part owner Buff Bradley’s barn at Fair Grounds, where the specific nature of the injury was diagnosed. 

Bradley, in s text message sent about 7:00 Central on Saturday evening, said he was en route with the horse to LSU. Bradley said surgeons will try to fuse The Player’s ankle  

“So we will try to save him but know it won't be easy and we will not let him suffer,” Bradley said. 

Even if the surgery succeeds, horses run the risk of contracting laminitis, which often proves catastrophic, during recovery from such injuries.