Alfredo Luevano, 53, died early Oct. 20 in a training incident aboard a Quarter Horse at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif. Luevano was exercising a filly on the backstretch when the incident occurred. He was on the ground when assistance arrived while the filly ran off under her own power. As of Saturday night, Los Alamitos said they had no eyewitness accounts with any precise details on the incident.
Luevano was rushed to Long Beach Memorial, where he was pronounced dead.
The horse, a 2-year-old filly named Fly From The Fire, was not injured. She has made five starts this year for trainer Mike Casselman and was entered in the seventh race the evening of Oct. 21. Track management has since confirmed that Fly From The Fire will be scratched from this race 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,"Los Alamitos spokesperson Orlando Gutierrez said
Born in the city of Luis Moya in Zacatecas, Mexico, Luevano had a total of 33 mounts in the United States among different breeds during a riding career that concluded 10 years ago. Most of of his mounts came from 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 the Oct. 22 race card at Los Alamitos.
Los Alamitos runs both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds during nighttime racing. It stages several short Thoroughbred meets of afternoon racing over the course of the year. Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds train at Los Alamitos daily.
