Day gets the call and decides to call it a day

Veteran American jockey Pat Day has announced his retirement from riding.

The 51-year-old is the all-time leading rider by money won in America and he is also fourth on the list by number of victories with over 8,800 winners to his name.

Day has not ridden since July 17th and he now plans to assume a role in ministering to youth groups and assisting the Race Track Chaplaincy of America programme. "He went on a sabbatical and the Lord assured him it was time to move on and pursue a different direction in his life," agent Doc Danner told www.bloodhorse.com.

Day has notched a string of big-race successes, winning nine Classics including the Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E Tee in 1992 and the Preakness Stakes five times. He also won the Breeders' Cup Classic four times in his career, and took the inaugural edition aboard outsider Wild Again in 1984.

Meanwhile, Seámus Durack has suffered a major setback in his recovery from a broken leg sustained in May. Durack has already spent 10 weeks in rehabilitation from the initial injury but he has been told that he needs another operation to rectify the joint.

The 28-year-old jockey broke his right femur and dislocated his hip in a fall at Towcester on May 17th, when his mount Redspin took a nasty tumble three-out in the Wayside Maiden Hurdle.

Complications involving the initial operation have resulted in the fractured leg not healing as well as expected and he must now go under the knife for a second time.

"I'm hoping to go back to hospital at some point this week," explained Durack. "The surgeons have done a great job, but there was a one in three chance of this happening."

Durack has endured a wretched time with injuries in his career and this is the third time he has broken a leg in four years.

Paul Hanagan is another who faces several weeks on the sidelines after breaking his right collarbone in a nasty fall at Pontefract yesterday. Hanagan was brought down aboard Choreographic in the closing stages of the Holiday Time Handicap.