Veteran jockey Tyler Conner is recovering after a frightening fall in the seventh race on July 24 at Colonial Downs, an incident that left him with a broken C1 vertebra and a broken nose.

Despite the severity of the injury — a fracture to the top vertebra in the neck — Conner remains in remarkably high spirits, according to his agent Paula Bacon. Speaking Saturday morning on Off to the Races Radio, Bacon said Conner’s outlook has been nothing short of inspirational.

“He couldn’t be in any better spirits,” Bacon said. “He was joking, very joyful, very thankful, really amazing. His attitude is unreal.”

Conner was unseated when his mount, Stanza, clipped heels with Montador, ridden by Francisco Arrieta, who came out in the stretch seeking running room. The spill sent Conner hard to the turf and immediately raised concern across the racing community. After Conner was medevacked to the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Colonial canceled the final four races of its Thursday card.

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Conner, 31, began riding in 2014 and has since amassed 1,271 career victories and nearly $29.3 million in purse earnings. He’s guided several runners to graded stakes wins, including Wow Whata Summer in the Grade 2 Penn Mile, as well as Honor D Lady, The Lieutenant, and Mr. Roary in Grade 3 events.

Bacon said that Conner’s recovery timeline could be as little as two months or could stretch into a year. Either way, she said, doctors expect Conner to make a full recovery.

Encouragingly, he has already been up and walking, though the full use of his arms is still returning gradually.

“He’s already forcing himself to do things,” Bacon said. “I think as positive as his attitude is, and as much as he’s physically fit, I think his recovery time will be fairly quick compared to other people.”

The outpouring of support for Conner has been overwhelming. A GoFundMe campaign to assist with medical and living expenses during his time away from the saddle has raised over $47,000 toward its $55,000 goal in just a day.

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Bacon said she’s never seen anything like the show of love and encouragement that has poured in from across the racing world.

“He’s got a broken neck, so it’s a big, big deal,” Bacon said. “But I’ve never seen this many people rally behind someone.”

Before the injury, Conner was coming off a recent stakes win in Monmouth Park’s Wolf Hill Stakes and was gaining momentum with quality mounts. While his return date is uncertain, his resilience and positivity are clear—and so is the support behind him.

“I’ve never seen somebody have this many people well wishing and, you know, standing behind him and calling and praying,” Bacon said. “I mean, it’s just amazing. He’s a very, very, very, well liked little man.”