Jockey Mark Pace dead at 58

[FenceBored]

Mark Pace, 58, of Texas, died Sunday after a spill in the first race at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw.

When changes were announced prior to the start of the races, Pace was named to ride a horse that jockey Mike Bishop was originally schedule to ride, 3-year-old filly “Reep What You Sow,” the No. 2 horse in the race.

During the 5 1/2 furlongs race, the filly ran into the rail and Pace fell. An ambulance transported him to Sequoyah County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
-- http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20091018_12_0_SALLIS707981&allcom=1
via Paulick (http://www.paulickreport.com/)

Rest in Peace.

[Grits]

So sorry for this loss--this man, this rider. For his family and his friends who loved him.:(

[Tom]

Prayers to his family. Very sad.

Did Bishop refuse to ride the horse?

[098poi]

My condolences to friends and family.

[tzipi]

R.I.P. Shame.

[strapper]

So sorry to learn of Mr. Pace's tragedy at Blue Ribbon. From what I understand he was just resuming a riding career but I can't place his name from any earlier riding around these parts. Not too many at that advanced age still trying to ply such a dangerous profession, but I'm sure it was his passion in life if he was coming back a second time. Blue Ribbon Downs did the honorable thing by cancelling the card. I remember when we lost a jockey here years ago midcard and the owner asked the riders to finish out the card. I didn't think that was the right course of action.

[Ian Meyers]

That's not a name I'm familiar with but a terrible tragedy in any case. My prayers go out to his family. :(

[PaceAdvantage]

It's tragic accidents like this that only reinforce how these guys and gals put their lives on the line every time they line up in that gate.

Daredevils with balls of steel...that's what jockeys are....

[WinterTriangle]

A tragedy to be sure. My deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones. He must've loved it though, going back to ride again.


I was supposed to go to BRD today, but it was cold so I decided not to make the 1+ hour drive.

I was going with my friend, whose last name is Pace. :eek:

[lamboguy]

It's tragic accidents like this that only reinforce how these guys and gals put their lives on the line every time they line up in that gate.

Daredevils with balls of steel...that's what jockeys are....very sad indeed

[Tom]

It's tragic accidents like this that only reinforce how these guys and gals put their lives on the line every time they line up in that gate.

Daredevils with balls of steel...that's what jockeys are....

Yes. That is why I never question them when they refuse to ride.
If your butt isn't in the saddle, you have no say in it.
Every time the get a leg up, it could be their last.
Hats off to them all.

[Marshall Bennett]

Very sad news . My prayers go out to the family . Any time such a tragedy happens it's a wake-up call as to how dangerous it can be . Our attention so often is with the horses and not the riders , until this happens .

[matthewsiv]

God Bless him.

My sympathies go out to his family.

[Bochall]

Sad news about Mark Pace, but why was a 58 yr old allowed to ride in the first place?? Lots of states have a mandatory retirement age for horses...just seems that a 58 yr old in the irons can be dangerous. If this were a 17 yr old horse that broke down we would be up in arms as to why he was running in the first place. With all the split second decisions to be made in a race it seems that a 58 yr old jock can be dangerous.

[turfnsport]

Mike Bishop was originally the named jockey. He also had been taken off his mount in the 3rd race...He still was listed on a horse in the 12th race, but I'm guessing the late jock change was TBD...They cancelled the rest of the card after the 2nd race.

Pace was scheduled to ride Glide Right Along in the second race. The five-year-old mare won the race.

[Grits]

Sad news about Mark Pace, but why was a 58 yr old allowed to ride in the first place?? Lots of states have a mandatory retirement age for horses...just seems that a 58 yr old in the irons can be dangerous.

And those states are?

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger who is age 58, --got right-- the most challenging split second decision in recent history, landing an aircraft on the Hudson River with himself, his crew, and every passenger on board living to tell it.

Surgeons, 58 years old make life changing (and sometimes, split second) decisions with patients lying on tables before them each day in operating rooms nationwide.

Same goes for truckdrivers, whose decades long careers have led them to travel the interstates nationwide all year. Driving long hours.

Our thinking abilities do not lessen at age 50. More like 75+, yes, but not generally at 50. If they did, Social Security and pension plan age requirements would all be vastly lowered.

Hopefully, Mark Pace's age didn't play any part, whatsoever, in his ability to make decisions, riding or otherwise. Of course, I don't know this man, but if he was fit, and I imagine he was, or he couldn't be riding--I'm inclined to believe his mind, his cognitive skills, etc, were in equally as fine a condition.

Either way, I'll surely give him benefit of all doubt.

[Marshall Bennett]

My concern would be more of the condition of the horses running there than the jockeys . There are several venues around the country where the quality of horses entered leaves much to be desired .

[castaway01]

And those states are?

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger who is age 58, --got right-- the most challenging split second decision in recent history, landing an aircraft on the Hudson River with himself, his crew, and every passenger on board living to tell it.

Surgeons, 58 years old make life changing (and sometimes, split second) decisions with patients lying on tables before them each day in operating rooms nationwide.

Same goes for truckdrivers, whose decades long careers have led them to travel the interstates nationwide all year. Driving long hours.

Our thinking abilities do not lessen at age 50. More like 75+, yes, but not generally at 50. If they did, Social Security and pension plan age requirements would all be vastly lowered.

Hopefully, Mark Pace's age didn't play any part, whatsoever, in his ability to make decisions, riding or otherwise. Of course, I don't know this man, but if he was fit, and I imagine he was, or he couldn't be riding--I'm inclined to believe his mind, his cognitive skills, etc, were in equally as fine a condition.

Either way, I'll surely give him benefit of all doubt.

These are poor comparisons. What you said about thinking skills and when they decline is factually incorrect, but more important to an athlete are reaction times, which decline from your 20s on and explain why there aren't any 58-year-old baseball players in the major leagues. The pilot making smart decisions over a period of several (or more) minutes about how and where to make an emergency landing or a surgeon knowing how to properly perform an operation are a lot different from the potentially life-and-death split-second decisions jockeys make that involve physical strength and reflexes.

While in this case the rider's age may or may not have led to this horrible incident, is a 58-year-old as safe in an athletic competition as someone whose reflexes are many times faster? Of course not.

[Grits]

These are poor comparisons. What you said about thinking skills and when they decline is factually incorrect, but more important to an athlete are reaction times, which decline from your 20s on and explain why there aren't any 58-year-old baseball players in the major leagues. The pilot making smart decisions over a period of several (or more) minutes about how and where to make an emergency landing or a surgeon knowing how to properly perform an operation are a lot different from the potentially life-and-death split-second decisions jockeys make that involve physical strength and reflexes.

While in this case the rider's age may or may not have led to this horrible incident, is a 58-year-old as safe in an athletic competition as someone whose reflexes are many times faster? Of course not.

You may be correct, and I may be wrong, but you can bet, it takes sharper thinking skill to land an aircraft on water in about a 3 minute window of emergency than it takes a 20-30 year old dude to determine in which direction to throw a damn basketball. STRENGTH OR NOT.

And aside from Google, there are probably more CEOs age 50 than 25 to 30 years of age. Again, the thinking process and abilities, downward turn and all.

My point being, don't discount one's ability, simply, due to his or her age.

Do I think Jerry Bailey could climb back aboard and win a stakes race tomorrow or a BC race over any jock riding today--age, skill and fitness applied.

You bet!!! ALL DAY.

There are exceptions to every generalization. And you are generalizing all individuals over age 50, not only physically, but cognitively.

I'm sorry we don't agree, and I'm sure you're probably far more knowledgable than I (at 58). Too, I don't wish to further take away from the tragedy of Mark Pace.

[craigbraddick]

These are poor comparisons. What you said about thinking skills and when they decline is factually incorrect, but more important to an athlete are reaction times, which decline from your 20s on and explain why there aren't any 58-year-old baseball players in the major leagues. The pilot making smart decisions over a period of several (or more) minutes about how and where to make an emergency landing or a surgeon knowing how to properly perform an operation are a lot different from the potentially life-and-death split-second decisions jockeys make that involve physical strength and reflexes.

While in this case the rider's age may or may not have led to this horrible incident, is a 58-year-old as safe in an athletic competition as someone whose reflexes are many times faster? Of course not.

Tom Watson seemed to do fine with being an older athlete at this years Open..

[boomman]

Even though I called races in Oklahoma for nearly 10 years (including guest announcing at BRD), I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Pace. It is a horrible tragedy whenever a rider goes down and I am saddened by the news, and I'm sure that many of the good folks that I know from my days in Oklahoma racing probably did know him well. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.............

Boomer

[WinterTriangle]

Freak accidents happen to the best of riders, and best of horses.

Just like tornadoes blow away a well-built house, but jump over a mobile home next to it and leave it untouched.

These are the mysteries of life and death that humans try to analyze and reason out, because it is human nature to take chaos and try to attach meaning and analysis to it.

Which doesn't always work.

Casting aspersions on Mr. Pace as to his age, or to the horse as to his condition, is therefore not really meaningful.

Horses, but esp. green ones, are unpredicatble. So is what might happen to them while running, which of course, also affects the person on their back.

[castaway01]

You may be correct, and I may be wrong, but you can bet, it takes sharper thinking skill to land an aircraft on water in about a 3 minute window of emergency than it takes a 20-30 year old dude to determine in which direction to throw a damn basketball. STRENGTH OR NOT.

And aside from Google, there are probably more CEOs age 50 than 25 to 30 years of age. Again, the thinking process and abilities, downward turn and all.

My point being, don't discount one's ability, simply, due to his or her age.

Do I think Jerry Bailey could climb back aboard and win a stakes race tomorrow or a BC race over any jock riding today--age, skill and fitness applied.

You bet!!! ALL DAY.

There are exceptions to every generalization. And you are generalizing all individuals over age 50, not only physically, but cognitively.

I'm sorry we don't agree, and I'm sure you're probably far more knowledgable than I (at 58). Too, I don't wish to further take away from the tragedy of Mark Pace.

It's not a matter of being knowledgable---I wasn't insulting 58-year-olds. My point was that if 58-year-olds were as gifted ATHLETICALLY as 22-year-olds, you'd see them playing baseball, in the NFL, NBA, etc. Again, you're talking about brainpower and experience of a surgeon or someone in a plane when an engine malfunctions, while I am talking about the reflexes an athlete like a jockey needs to survive.

RIP to Mark Pace is the key point though. A sad event in any instance.

[castaway01]

Tom Watson seemed to do fine with being an older athlete at this years Open..

Golf requires fast hand-eye coordination? I must have missed that. I think making a split-second decision when a horse is about to hit a rail is a lot different than lining up a golf shot for five minutes.

[CryingForTheHorses]

Mark Pace, 58, of Texas, died Sunday after a spill in the first race at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw.

When changes were announced prior to the start of the races, Pace was named to ride a horse that jockey Mike Bishop was originally schedule to ride, 3-year-old filly “Reep What You Sow,” the No. 2 horse in the race.

During the 5 1/2 furlongs race, the filly ran into the rail and Pace fell. An ambulance transported him to Sequoyah County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
-- http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20091018_12_0_SALLIS707981&allcom=1
via Paulick (http://www.paulickreport.com/)

Rest in Peace.



I never knew this man but God Bless Him..Im sure he died doing what he loved to do...R I P