Jockey Eduardo Gutierrez-Sosa, who rode primarily on the mixed-meet circuit in the Pacific Northwest, was killed in the first race of the season at the Crooked River Roundup July 14 when his Quarter Horse mount hit the inner rail and catapulted Gutierrez-Sosa headfirst into the infield, possibly after first hitting the rail.
The Central Oregonian news outlet reported that the fairgrounds grandstand was packed with enthusiastic fans cheering on the return of racing, which had been cancelled last year because of the pandemic. Most were at first unaware that a fatality had occurred. The second race proceeded after a delay of 51 minutes.
But then, according to the Oregonian, the fair's racing director, Doug Smith, took to the public address system to inform the crowd of what had happened, announcing that the remainder of the card would be cancelled out of respect.
Gutierrez-Sosa began riding in Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred races in 2013. In Thoroughbred races, he rode 194 winners from 1,592 starts. He was recently seventh in the standings at Grants Pass Downs for each breed at the Oregon's lone mixed meet at a commercial track.
The horse Gutierrez-Sosa was riding got walked off the track after the incident, according to the Equibase chart.
Crooked River Roundup is also called Prineville Turf Club (the city of Prineville is where the fairgrounds is located). It hosts a four-date evening meet that is scheduled to continue through Saturday.
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