Alfredo Luevano, 53, died early Friday morning in a training incident at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, California, the track said in a press release late Friday evening.
Luevano was exercising a filly on the backstretch when the incident occurred. He was on the ground when assistance first arrived, while the filly ran off under her power. As of now, there have been no eyewitness accounts with any precise details on the incident. Luevano was rushed to Long Beach Memorial, where he was pronounced deceased.
The horse, a 2-year-old filly Quarter Horse named Fly From The Fire (Fly Thru the Fire), was not injured. She made five starts this year for trainer Mike Casselman and was entered in the seventh race at Los Alamitos on Saturday night. Track management has since confirmed that the filly will be scratched as a precaution.
“On behalf of the Los Alamitos Race Course family, we express our deepest condolences to Mr. Luevano's family members and friends,” said Los Alamitos Race Course spokesperson Orlando Gutierrez.
Born in the city of Luis Moya in Zacatecas, Mexico, the jockey had a total of 33 mounts during his professional riding career with most of his rides taking place in Mexico and Colorado. He was issued an exercise rider license by the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year.
Alfredo Luevano is survived by his wife, Marisela Martinez, their children, Lisbet, Alfredo Jr., Alex, Aldo, and Camila, six grandchildren and his father, Augustine. A moment of silence will be held in his memory before Sunday's Quarter Horse card at Los Alamitos.
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