Apprentice jockey Maynor Lopez will be out of action for several months due to injuries sustained in a racing accident at Calder Race Course on Sunday, June 15.

Lopez was aboard Charming Lexie as the two led the field just past the five-sixteenth pole in the sixth race on the main track when the 4-year-old filly fell, unseating the jockey. Lopez fractured his collarbone in two places and also suffered a fractured vertebra.

The 27-year-old native of Ecuador had surgeries on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, which included the insertion of metal rods in his back. His agent reported that doctors expect Lopez to be able to start rehabilitation in three to four months and that he could possibly return to riding.

From that same race on Sunday, two other jockeys were unseated from their mounts. Faustino Orantes was also transported to the hospital for evaluation, and was found to be uninjured. Daniel Coa returned to the jockeys’ room after the race and resumed riding that afternoon.