Exercise horse rider dies during training hours 

A local race course has announced that an exercise horse rider was killed during a training exercise in Cypress early Saturday morning. 

The rider, identified as 53-year-old Alfredo Luevano, was training a 2-year-old filly – a female horse too young to be called a mare – on Saturday when he was found on the ground on the backstretch of the track by first responders, Los Alamitos Race Course said in a release. 

He was rushed to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. 

“As of now, there have been no eyewitness accounts with any precise details on the incident,” the Los Alamitos Race Course release said.  

The 2-year-old horse, named Fly From The Fire, was not injured and ran off on her own power, race course officials said.  

She had made five starts this year for trainer Mike Casselman and was entered in the seventh race at Los Alamitos on Saturday night, but was scratched from the race as a precaution, according to track management. 

“On behalf of the Los Alamitos Race Course family, we express our deepest condolences to Mr. Luevano’s family members and friends,” Los Alamitos Race Course spokesperson Orlando Gutierrez said. 

Luevano, a native of the city of Luis Moya in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, had a total of 33 mounts during his professional riding career, with most of his rides taking place in Mexico and Colorado, the race course said. He was issued an exercise rider license by the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year. 

He is survived by his wife, five children, six grandchildren and his father. 

A moment of silence will be held in his memory before Sunday’s race card, track officials said.