If there was a popularity contest at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, Rodolfo ''Rudy'' Baez, one of the New England's all-time best jockeys, would win by 32 lengths.

He works the hallways and therapy rooms of Kessler in West Orange, N.J., the same way he worked the stables and dirt track at Rockingham Park or Suffolk Downs, smiling, offering words of encouragement, while at the top of his class. Rudy is being Rudy.

The difference is Baez's mode of transportation, a wheelchair rather than a 1,500-pound thoroughbred.

On Aug. 4, in the second race, a collage of horses veered toward the rail. Baez was on the inside, atop Gator Bait, when his horse's heels collided with another's, knocking his horse off balance.

Baez was tossed from his mount, landing on his upper back.

He fractured the T-5 and T-6 vertebrae in the mid-thoracic region of his back, nearly severing his spine.

He is now paralyzed from the middle of his chest and down.

''I am the luckiest person in the world,'' said Baez, in heavily-accented English, while sitting in the picturesque, tree-covered courtyard at Kessler.


Jockey Rudy Baez riding Lambana wins the $100,000 Spicy Living Stakes at Rockingham Park on Aug. 1. ''I don't look at it as a tragedy,'' he said. ''I'm alive. God saved me. Some people don't make it through surgery. But I did. I'm not sure what He has planned for me, but it is something.''

Baez, only 114 pounds, left the New England racing scene six weeks ago as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, amassing 4,875 victories --ranking him 17th all-time nationally.

''In New England he is the Babe Ruth of jockeys,'' said Mike Szpuk, Baez's agent. ''He was only 125 wins from 5,000 (Carl Gambardella had 6,349). In my years with him, he always won a meet title at Rockingham or Suffolk. And he didn't just win; he'd be out in front by 30 or 40 wins. He blew the competition away.''

Baez is tied with several jockeys for the most wins in one day -- seven. He missed winning an eighth, and sole possession of the national record, by a nose.

''I thought I had it,'' said the wincing Baez, placing his thumb and index finger about an inch apart. ''I really wanted that.''

In 1990, he missed winning the national jockey title (most victories) by only 10 wins, finishing second to Pat Day.

''I missed a bunch of races because I go home every December to see my mother in the Dominican Republic,'' said Baez. ''I would've won 10 races easily. But it was more important to see my mother.''

Competition is what directed Baez to horse racing in the beginning, as a teenager in San Pedro, D.R. He loved being around horses, but what really drove him was his will to win.

''I think about competing now and I get chills,'' said Baez, making believe he had the reins and whip in his hand. ''I love to win.''

Those competitive juices are still flowing; they've just been channeled to a new location -- West Orange, N.J., home of the world-renowned Kessler Institute.

Information written by Piglett