Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori has been rushed to hospital with several broken bones after a horrendous car crash.
Dettori, 55, was in the vehicle when it was struck on the rear-passenger side by another car in Newmarket, Suffolk. He was then rushed to hospital for treatment where he remains under observation.
He suffered broken ribs and a broken thumb in the shocking accident and his management team released a statement on his behalf.
It read: ‘Frankie would like to thank the emergency services who attended the scene, together with the doctors, nurses and wider medical team caring for him.
‘Another vehicle struck the rear passenger side of the car Frankie was driving, causing it to spin and flip.
‘Frankie was taken to hospital, where he was found to have sustained several broken ribs and a broken thumb. His injuries are still being assessed, and he remains in hospital for further scans and observation.
Frankie Dettori has broken bones in a car crash and is recovering in hospital
‘Frankie would like to thank the emergency services who attended the scene, together with the doctors, nurses and wider medical team caring for him.
‘His focus is now on resting and recovering. H Talent Management respectfully asks that Frankie’s privacy is respected at this time. No further comment will be made until there is a meaningful update.’
Dettori was supposed to be back in the saddle again for the Betfred Leger Legends race at Doncaster in September but his participation is now in serious doubt.
The charity event would have been his first ride since officially retiring from racing earlier this year. He leapt from his horse in victory for the final time in February in Brazil – bringing down the curtain on a wildly successful 35-year career.
A shadow was cast over Dettori’s last few months in the saddle, with the flat-racer made bankrupt despite raking in £20m over the course of his professional career.
The three-time champion jockey has been involved in a long-running wrangle with HMRC and in December 2024 said he had been ‘working hard to unravel the mess that I have been put in’ by a financial adviser.
No solution was found, though, and Dettori was declared bankrupt. That bankruptcy was extended by a year after he was said to have failed to fully disclose his assets.
At a specialist insolvency court in London in March, not attended by Dettori or any representative, trustees overseeing the process gave a damning assessment.
Nicholas Briggs, chief insolvency and companies court judge, said there was a ‘blatant failure’ by Dettori to provide information when asked. He added: ‘There is much to uncover in this bankruptcy, and it may well be that criminal sanctions will be a useful tool for the trustees.’
Dettori is seen sporting the eye injury he sustained in the plane crash that almost took his life back in 2000
The remains of the plane that crashed with Dettori, his friend and the pilot in is seen after the explosion that took the life of Patrick Mackey
Dettori had told the trustees last year that he did not own properties abroad, but it was later found he ‘had not disclosed properties, in particular in France and Italy’. The judge said there were ‘other concerns’ – including a Piaget watch, a wine collection reportedly worth £70,000 and investments totaling £365,000.
Dettori’s collision on Thursday is not his first serious accident. Back in 2000, he almost died in a horrific plane at Newmarket that killed pilot Patrick Mackey.
Dettori and fellow jockey Ray Cochrane escaped from the wreckage of the rented Piper Seneca plane.
Cochrane later told the astonishing story, revealing to the Sun: ‘We set off down the airfield, the wind caught it and it bounced.
‘The propeller caught the ground and away it went again. I looked at Frankie and yanked up the seatbelt.
‘There was smoke coming out of the engine. We were heading for Devil’s Dyke and the wing tip caught it and flipped over and I thought, “This is going to hurt”. I woke up after 30 seconds or so and kicked the luggage door open.
‘Frankie was covered in blood, couldn’t see, was screaming his leg was broken and couldn’t walk.
‘I put him up on the ground and was climbing back in for Patrick (who had collapsed at the controls) but the engine was on fire and the wind was making it a flame-thrower coming at you. Absolutely no chance of getting in.’
Dettori remains the most famous jockey of all time.
He rode more than 3,300 winners during his glittering career and famously had seven victories from seven rides at Ascot in September 1996, which came to be known as ‘The Magnificent Seven’.
