LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When the starting gate opens at Churchill Downs, Dr. Luke Beggs is trackside, along with other staff and EMTs, watching for a safe trip for all involved.

Beggs is one of the medical directors from Norton Sports Health who works at the track as part of a partnership with Churchill Downs. 

He meets with the jockeys, clears them for racing and is on site to treat them for injuries. 

Beggs described the plan for monitoring the jockeys during the Derby. 

“There will be myself and probably (the) other co-medical director there essentially trackside, feet in the dirt, close to the action so that if anything were to happen, we’re right there and can see what happened and can be there as quickly as possible,” said Beggs. 

Ambulances will also be on standby on each side of the track for the Run for the Roses, he said. 

Just like the horses they guide around the track, the jockeys are elite athletes who have to be in top physical health before they’re ready to race.

The Norton Sports Health Jockey Care Clinic located just outside the paddock provides preventive and acute care and federally required baseline concussion testing and physicals for the jockeys, said Beggs. 

“These guys are riding on a horse going 20 to 30 miles an hour,” said Beggs. “I’m sure all of them that have raced for any amount of time have fallen off of a horse at some point, so any kind of head injuries is a big one. Other than that, it’s a lot of musculoskeletal injuries. The same things you would see somebody riding a motorcycle ... strains and sprains or broken bones.” 

While the medical staff is present for every live race day, Derby Week requires extra support, said Beggs.

“There’s just a lot more happening, which just creates a different kind of atmosphere,” he said. “And so we pull in more physicians, more nurses to just have on hand.”