McClure Discusses His Return

Almost one month to the day after driver Bob McClure broke his pelvis in a racing accident at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Elora, Ontario-based reinsman has discussed his upcoming return with Trot Insider.

The accident occurred during Woodbine Mohawk Park’s qualifying session on April 25. McClure and his charge, American Risk, fell to the track in the second quarter of the race. Drivers Phil Hudon and Anthony MacDonald, who were trailing, also hit the track in the spill and sustained serious injuries.

After doing everything that he could to get back to the races, McClure is scheduled to drive in eight races this Thursday (May 23) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Although he suffered a broken pelvis, McClure explained to Trot Insider that the break occurred in the best way possible.

“The X-rays that were performed after the accident revealed clean fractures, so I was quite lucky in that sense,” McClure stated. “That made me feel quite a bit better in terms of being able to return to the bike sooner than later.”

Similar to Trevor Henry, McClure has been able to utilize a hyperbaric chamber to aid him in recovery. He told Trot Insider that the equipment has helped his recovery tremendously.

“I’ve been able to use a chamber three to four times a week,” said McClure, “and the doctors and physical therapists can’t believe how much it has helped the healing process.”

Bob McClure, pictured with his son, Ryder, in 2017.

One thing that McClure is still waiting on, though, is a torn muscle in his back, which he will be ‘racing into shape,’ so to speak.

“The torn muscle in my back is something that I’m going to kind of have to wait on a bit,” stated McClure. “It’s going to take some time to heal, but I’m going to have to work my way through it.”

McClure explained that the muscle issue has caused him to walk with a bit of a limp, as it has had an effect on one of his legs. The pilot has reported that he is now good to go when it comes to the sulky.

“Today (Tuesday, May 21) was my first day back in the bike and now I’m ready to go,” McClure reported. “I trained a couple for Jacques Dupont at Mohawk and then went over to Luc Blais’ farm and went with some without issue. I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.”

To view the harness racing entries for Thursday at Mohawk, click the following link: Thursday Entries – Woodbine Mohawk Park.