Zayas escapes injury after brutal Belmont at the Big A fall

Edgard J. Zayas escaped the kind of fall that can change a race day in an instant, and possibly a career, after being launched over the front of Glint in a frightening spill at Belmont at the Big A. The Puerto Rico-born rider was able to walk away unscathed after the eighth race on the Memorial Day card at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, even as viewers called the scene one of the wildest, and in some cases worst, they had ever seen.

The incident unfolded shortly after the start of the mile race when Glint, trained by Amira Chichakly, clipped heels with Screaming Uncle, ridden by Ruben Silvera. Glint stumbled, and Zayas was pitched forward over the horse’s head in a split-second mishap that left the rider airborne before he hit the ground. The horse-and-rider tangle turned a routine holiday-card contest into the most jarring moment of the afternoon.

What made the fall resonate beyond the shock value was the name attached to it. Zayas is one of the most experienced riders in the game, with Equibase listing 15,246 career starts and 2,694 wins as of late May 2026. He began riding in the United States in 2012, and his long record only underscored how little margin exists in the saddle when horses clip heels and lose their footing at racing speed.

The race itself was an optional, starter optional claiming mile, the kind of conditions event that can still produce a deep and competitive field on a major holiday program. That context helped explain why the video traveled so quickly and why the spill struck so many race fans as especially unsettling: even with a veteran aboard, one bad step at the break was enough to end the ride before the field had fully settled.

For horsemen, bettors and track officials, the immediate takeaway was not the drama of the image but the result that mattered most. Zayas got up, walked away and avoided injury. On a day built around a high-profile Belmont at the Big A card, the spill became a reminder that race-day procedure, break dynamics and rider welfare remain central to confidence in the meet, because the most dangerous moments can come before the race has even begun to develop.