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Straight off sedatives, ventilator to be removed

Matthew Straight and his father, Sandy (Photo courtesy of Arlington Park) Jockey Matthew Straight, twin brother of apprentice jockey Michael Straight who was injured on August 26 at Arlington Park, issued an update regarding the condition of his brother on Saturday. "Mike is completely off the sedatives and the doctors are expecting to remove the ventilator today or tomorrow," Matthew Straight said. "Once he's able to communicate with us, it will make everything a lot better. He's still fighting. "He's doing well. He's stable and he's hanging in there. It's going to be a long road to recovery, but with the continued thoughts and prayers for our family, we'll get through it." Matthew Straight returned to the saddle for the first time since his brother's accident when guiding MORE THAN ABLE (More Than Ready) to a third-place finish in Arlington's 4TH race on Saturday. The four-year-old gelding had been ridden by Michael Straight in his previous four starts, including a victory on June 7.

"There wasn't a lot of pace in the race but he came running when I asked him," Matthew Straight said after the race. "We just couldn't get the job done for Mike.

"I came up here the other day to be by my brother's side, so I wanted to get back in the saddle and see how I felt," he explained. "I'm riding a horse that Mike has ridden the past four times and recently won on."

The connections of More Than Able indicated they would donate a portion of the horse's earnings to a fund established to help the Straight Family defray medical costs for Michael. Arlington's jockeys all donated a losing mount fee to the fund and participated in a day-long autograph signing session that earned $5,000 for the fund.

"All the jockeys (around the country) have been asked to donate one (losing) mount fee for Mike through the Don MacBeth Memorial Fund, and hopefully we can raise a little more awareness and a little more money (toward the medical expenses)," Matthew Straight said. "It's very generous what the Jockeys' Guild and the PDJF put together for today.

Matthew has recently started working horses in the morning at Arlington Park and plans to ride here for the remainder of the meet, which ends September 27.

"Once you get out there and get on the horses, you kind of clear your mind of everything," Matthew Straight said in regard to getting back on horses. "Obviously, there were a few butterflies at first and I'm sure there will be today, but it's what I want to do. It's what me and my brother both love to do. We all know what we are signing up for when we start riding."

Michael Straight was riding Im No Gentleman (Whadjathink) in the 8TH race at Arlington on August 26 when his mount appeared to clip heels with another horse in the vicinity of the quarter-pole and fell, sending his rider to the track. Straight suffered injuries to the spine, including four broken vertebrae, as well as a head injury.

Straight, a native of East Greenbush, New York, graduated from Chris McCarron's North American Racing Academy in 2008. He won the first race of his career at Tampa Bay Downs in March 2009 and has ridden a total of 39 winners in 372 races.

A fund to support Michael Straight and his family has been set up through the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockeys Fund. Donations earmarked for Michael Straight should be sent to P.O. Box 18470, Encino, CA, 91416.

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