Here's a quick blurb that ran locally in yesterday's SF Chronicle. Cross your fingers...

Injured jockey is still in coma
Larry Stumes

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Jockey Chance Rollins, who sustained injuries to his head in a spill Sunday at Bay Meadows, had his condition upgraded from critical to serious Monday, and he remains in a medication-induced coma in the intensive care unit at Stanford Medical Center.

"His sedative is being slowly reduced to wake him up so that we can evaluate the degree of cognitive impairment," Bay Area racetrack physician Dr. David Seftel said. "It's difficult to predict the outcome. The next 48 to 72 hours will tell. He could have just minimal memory loss, or he could be in a vegetative state. I'm cautiously optimistic knowing the resiliency and toughness of jockeys."

An MRI scan Sunday revealed no splintering of the carotid arteries in the neck, but it showed three conditions -- a stretching of the nerve fiber in the brain matter, a small hemorrhage in the lining and a small pool of blood at the base of the brain.

Rollins, 36, was riding Dr. Ramos in Sunday's third race -- a 11/16-mile event that began in front of the grandstand. Dr. Ramos began running erratically soon after the start and veered in and hit the rail. Rollins flew up in the air, bounced off the rail and landed head-first on the hard surface just to the inside of the track.