BARNES GETTING BETTER

Jimmy Barnes, the longtime assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, was released Friday from the hospital, where he had been since suffering a fractured pelvis in a morning training accident Sept. 17 at Santa Anita.

Barnes was unseated from a stable pony in an incident Baffert described as a “freaky thing.” Baffert said the pony lost his footing.

Barnes, 58, was resting at home over the weekend, according to his wife, Dana, an exercise rider for Baffert. He is expected to remain at home for a few weeks before returning to work.

Despite the absence, Barnes has kept up with stable developments while away, Dana Barnes said.

“He’s been on the phone with the barn at 5 in the morning,” she said.

Barnes has worked for Baffert since November 1998 and has often traveled with the stable’s leading runners throughout the United States and to Dubai