A horror fall has left Irish jockey Vince Halliday hospitalised in America with serious injuries.
Halliday fell from his horse at Delaware Park on Thursday and is now being treated at Christiana Hospital in Newark.
The Belfast man has two small brain bleeds as well as fractures to his spine, neck, shoulder and elbow.
His wife Stephanie told the Irish Mirror: "Vince is currently in ICU and is on a ventilator as he is not breathing on his own.
"When this first happened he was unable to move his arms (due to the fractures) but we got some movement on Saturday. Fortunately, he will not require surgery for his injuries.
"So far he has been unable to pass the breathing tests required to get him off the ventilator."
The accident happened when Halliday was riding a horse called Tua in the final race at Delaware Park.
When a horse in front, Normalizeddeviance, drifted into Tua’s running lane, a collision occurred that sent Halliday sprawling to the ground.
Stephanie added: “He's tough and will do anything to rehab. The nurses all remark on how strong he is.”
Halliday began his racing career as an apprentice to legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast before making the move to America in 2008.
A distinguished career riding in the States has followed for the jockey, who has ridden in over 1,000 races and won 45.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help Halliday recover from these injuries. Find the Go Fund Me campaign for Vince Halliday here.
