In the fifth race at Canterbury Park On June 23, racer Ruben Fuentes was thrown to the ground when his mount Malintent broken gate.
The driver was transported to a trauma hospital in Minneapolis last night. According to Canterbury’s director of media relations, Jeff Maday, Fuentes suffered multiple fractures of his skull, vertebrae and collarbone. Maday said Fuentes was scheduled to have surgery this morning but the surgery was postponed until Monday morning.
Roimes Chirinos was also knocked out when his mount Rhythm Hpnotiq fell over Malintent in the stretch. Although unprotected, Chirinos is said to be fine. Hpnotiq Rhythm, who stood up and walked away after the race, was also reported as well.
Malintent, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Todd Veerhusen and trained by Ronald L. Westermann, flipped off the track after the race. He later died after suffering a serious injury.
Fuentes, a ranked multiple-timer, won 35 races from 254 mounts this year with $810,725 in earnings. He has amassed $10,006,974 in earnings since he started driving in 2015. Represented by his agent Pete Antonucci, Fuentes is currently in sixth place on the top drivers rankings. in Canterbury as of Friday.
Canterbury has a Leg Up Fund that provides financial assistance to racers injured on the track.
