An MMA fighter who became a jockey has given fans a positive update after she fell during a race – hours from her first double win.
Chel-c Bailey's horse appeared to clip heels and crash to the turf while competing at the Hawthorne track, near Chicago, on Sunday.
The sportswoman, who had her first winner in 2020, was about to navigate the final bend in the mile contest when her mount, Get N Tipsy, became short of room.
The incident, which happened just as the TV camera switched angles, saw the 28-1 shot fall and roll several times.
Bailey was propelled forwards and although she took a heavy impact, momentum led to her being thrown clear of the horse.
The other runners were also able to avoid both horse and rider. Rapid Transit, sent off at 11-4 in the betting, went on to win the race.
Bailey, who started out in the sport working as an exercise rider for trainer Jinks Fires in 2017, informed racegoers of her wellbeing on social media.
"I'm okay and thankfully so was the horse," she tweeted.
"Thank you for all the concerns and prayers."
Bailey's fall came just a day after she celebrated her first double at the same sporting venue.
She shared her joy about teaming up successfully with favourites Amended and One Putt Richie on Twitter.
Bailey rode in her first race at Canterbury Park in September 2019 and gained her first victory by March 2020 at Oaklawn.
Brought up near Seattle, she began grooming horses for a friend as a teacher and learned to ride horses without a saddle at a local reservation.
Bailey was a successful wrestler before she turned her attentions to MMA around eight years ago.
She followed her husband David Kembrey into racing, as he worked for Fires.
In April 2020, Bailey told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that she planned to give up fighting for racing.
Bailey said in the interview that both sports have similar requirements to make the grade.
"You have to make weight for fighting just like you have to to be a jockey," she told the publication.
"I'm not saying that's my favourite thing, because I love food, but it shows how disciplined a person you can be.
"It also helps to be a person who can be coached, and without any sort of background, I've been like a sponge in the sport, just by watching and listening and talking with jockeys and riders and trainers."
