Paralyzed jockey files another suit

NEW CUMBERLAND - Having just earned a settlement in federal court, a jockey who was paralyzed two years ago at a West Virginia race track is suing the track, claiming it failed to repair soft spots and holes.

Gary Birzer filed the lawsuit in Hancock Circuit Court against MTR Gaming Group, Inc., the parent company of Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester.

Birzer's $10-million lawsuit against the Jockeys' Guild was settled in federal court in California, though the financial terms were not disclosed. He alleged that the Guild allowed his insurance benefits to lapse even though he routinely paid the $10-per-race catastrophe insurance.

Now he says the staff at Mountaineer Racetrack did not repair soft spots and holes in the track and also allowed an unhealthy horse to race.

Birzer was riding Lil Bit of Rouge on July 20, 2004, when he was thrown from the horse and landed headfirst. His body was paralyzed from the chest down.

The lawsuit seeks more than $12 million in damages and also lists owners-trainers Danny Bird and Kelly Wiseman and veterinarian Howard War as defendants.

Detroit attorney Paul Kozckur is representing Birzer, of Hamilton, Ohio.

Birzer, 30, has a wife and infant child. He says Bird, Wiseman and War should have known that Lil Bit of Rouge was not fit to race and should have pulled it.

At 40 mph, Birzer says he was thrown headfirst into the dirt, breaking his neck and paralyzing his body from the chest down.