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Trainer Jerkens in Intensive Care

Horse Racing

Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens remained in the intensive care unit March 3 at Aventura Hospital in South Florida, fighting a severe infection that set in last week. His condition is stable, according to his son, trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

The elder Jerkens was admitted to the hospital Feb. 28. He had been battling a minor infection over the winter and been under the weather for a few months, said his son, but had been feeling better recently after a course of antibiotics.

"Evidently this has been building up for a long time," said Jimmy Jerkens.

David Jerkens, racing secretary at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, said that his grandfather had experienced a shortness of breath and checked himself into the hospital.

"He's got an infection that's pretty serious, and that's the biggest hurdle," he said.

His father, Steven, is also a trainer on the New York circuit and flew to Florida March 2.

Allen Jerkens, known affectionately as "the Chief", has undergone a series of tests, all of which Jimmy Jerkens said have come back negative.

"His vital signs are pretty good and there are no symptoms of a stroke," he said. "Everything looks normal."

A fixture at Belmont Park through most of his 60-year training career, Allen Jerkens has been based at Gulfstream Park since late 2013. During his illness, his horses are in the care of his long-time assistant, Fernando Abreu.

Before he became ill, Jerkens learned that his former assistant, trainer Mike Hushion, also in Florida, had been hospitalized with a serious health issue.

"He found out the day before he went in [the hospital]," Jimmy Jerkens said. "He was real upset about it."

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