by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — Trainer Noel Daley is recuperating at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, N.J., after surgery to repair a compound fracture of the right ankle suffered in a training accident Monday (Jan. 3) at Magical Acres.

USTA photo

Noel Daley

The 49-year-old Daley expects to remain in the hospital for several days while doctors make sure there is no infection. A cast will be put on the leg in approximately two weeks, the trainer said Tuesday. Daley said he was able to wiggle his toes and appeared to suffer no additional injuries.

Daley was jogging a 2-year-old at the time of the incident.

“He was a baby,” Daley said. “He’d done three laps; I don’t know what scared him. He took off a hundred miles an hour and started kicking. He kicked the shaft and snapped the shaft. He was heading straight for the fence and I went down. It broke it when I went down. The adrenaline must have hit me straight away because I didn’t feel anything.

“It was bad, but it could have been worse.”

Daley, whose stable earned more than $2 million last year and won the Breeders Crown for 3-year-old filly trotters with Impressive Kemp, expects to be out of action for three to four months.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “They put in a plate and screws and it has temporary bandages on it now. They’ll cast it up in about two weeks and we’ll go from there.”