An exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a head injury in a riding accident at Saratoga Race Course.

Parker Buckley, 40, was in critical condition at Albany Medical Center after the training accident Monday.

Asmussen told the Daily Racing Form that Buckley, a former jockey, has worked for him for the past 16 months. He said Buckley was galloping a horse when he was unseated on the Oklahoma training track.

Buckley was seen sitting up talking to paramedics before he was taken by ambulance to Saratoga Hospital. Asmussen said a CT scan showed blood on the brain, and Buckley was flown to the hospital.