Jockey Herrera Killed in Pleasanton Spill

[The Hawk]

RIP Jorge Herrera.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/71063/jockey-herrera-killed-in-pleasanton-accident

[johnhannibalsmith]

Absolutely hate reading that. Damn, damn. Condolences to family and friends. :(

[Grits]

Bless this life, this man and his courage to do this dangerous job each day. May he rest in peace. Watch over and console those that love and care for him, family and friends. -- :(

[MickJ26]

OMG, that's just horrible. Condolences to his loved ones. I hope his suffering was brief. :(

[PhantomOnTour]

Terrible news

[HuggingTheRail]

Very sad...warm thoughts and prayers to Jorge's family and friends.

[maddog42]

These little guys have true courage and I admire them a great deal. Very Sad.
RIP.

[Greyfox]

That is truly sad and tragic.
My prayers are with his loved ones.

[Tom]

This is heartbreaking. Prayers to his family.
These guys put it on the line every time they get a leg up.

[nijinski]

Prayers to his loved ones. RIP

[Turkoman]

I just finished reading the article. My God, this is horrible! :(

R.I.P. Jorge Herrera

[turninforhome10]

Prayers to all who survived this brave young man.
Peace be with you.
If anyone would like to send a prayer request to the Chaplaincy the link is below.
http://www.racetrackbiblestudy.com/pages.asp?pageid=60573

[NJ Stinks]

Such sad news.

RIP, Jorge.

[PaceAdvantage]

Incredibly tragic. Jockeys will always have my respect and admiration for the massive risks they take each and every day.

[lamboguy]

a very sad day for the family and friends of this brave man.

white light going out to everyone who knew JORGE HERRERA

[Marshall Bennett]

Very sad news. Prayers to all involved. Rip.

[statepierback]

God's speed to the soul of this brave young man.

[GARY Z]

horrible news especially during this holiday.

Perhaps we could make a donation through Pleasonton Park
to the family as a gesture of our feelings?

[pdxmike]

Real classy of Jay Hovdey, in his only tweet about the incident, to call out Frank Mirahmadi.

Jay Hovdey ‏@JayHovdey
Mirahmadi misses fatal fall of Jorge Herrara while busy "imitating" Wayne Lukas calling the race. Note to Frank: Announcer ain't the show.

Frank responded with

Frank Mirahmadi ‏@FrankMirahmadi
@JayHovdey Beyond stunned at your preposterous statement. Horses were behind trees and I didn't see it. Also, his name is spelled Herrera.

Real scumbag move of Jay if you ask me. RIP Jorge

[rubicon55]

So very tragic, prayers for his family and loved ones.

[Shelby]

OMG tragic news. :(

RIP Jorge.

[jognlope]

Too young, prayers sent up, and to his family.

[Wickel]

Thoughts and prayers with his family. May Jorge RIP.

[CryingForTheHorses]

Very sad news RIP Jorge..

[horses4courses]

Horrible news....may he rest in peace

[Wagergirl]

So very sad to see this. My heart to his family and friends. Prayers for comfort and peace.

[wisconsin]

These guys are brave and have my utmost respect. May he rest in peace, prayers to his family :(

[brivolta]

A trainer once told me "People who don't realize how dangerous this sport is need to ask themselves what other sport has an ambulance following the participants".

[Beachbabe]

Before we criticize these people for not moving through a "hole" that barely exists, remember how easy it is to get catapulted to the ground & trampled upon.
These riders have no windshields; no seat belts; no rollbars, or no airbags.

Condolences to his friends & family.

[v j stauffer]

I had the pleasure of meeting Jorge on the fairs last summer. Very classy, gentle, type person.

I suppose we can take some solace in he was doing what he loved when he passed.

Won't be easy today though.

Yet another reminder of the risks involved and how amazing these gallant athletes are.

May his soul rest in peace.

Re: Hovedy and Miramahdi

Sometimes when we are grieving. Feeling so hurt, frustrated and helpless. We'll say anything to attempt to dull the pain.

Jay IMO is a good man who loves this game with all his heart. I would expect as the days pass he'll regret lashing out at Frank.

Man o man have we all chosen a tough game to love. Certainly not for the weak of heart.

I guess we'll push forward. Embrace and rejoice in the future while remembering and respecting the past.

Neither will be easy today:(

[Eddie W]

Look what happen to the great bill Shoemaker
That was why L Pincay Retired......They have very small
frame, there body is small...They risk there lives every time
they boot up....Its not the horse's fault....It not even there fault.

[Marshall Bennett]

Real classy of Jay Hovdey, in his only tweet about the incident, to call out Frank Mirahmadi.

Jay Hovdey ‏@JayHovdey
Mirahmadi misses fatal fall of Jorge Herrara while busy "imitating" Wayne Lukas calling the race. Note to Frank: Announcer ain't the show.

Frank responded with

Frank Mirahmadi ‏@FrankMirahmadi
@JayHovdey Beyond stunned at your preposterous statement. Horses were behind trees and I didn't see it. Also, his name is spelled Herrera.

Real scumbag move of Jay if you ask me. RIP Jorge
Perhaps the moral to the story is, don't try and be a comedian and announcer at the same time. It could come back to haunt you.
I didn't see the race, but to be doing an impersonation while a jockey lay fatally injured on the track seems bad regardless whether he knew of it or not.
I've never been a fan of Frank's race calls anyway. He sounds dull when he tries to be serious. He's a better comedian.

[v j stauffer]

Perhaps the moral to the story is, don't try and be a comedian and announcer at the same time. It could come back to haunt you.
I didn't see the race, but to be doing an impersonation while a jockey lay fatally injured on the track seems bad regardless whether he knew of it or not.
I've never been a fan of Frank's race calls anyway. He sounds dull when he tries to be serious. He's a better comedian.

I'm not going to debate this matter and lose sight of the tragedy. Wouldn't be fair to Jorge's memory.

However I will say one thing. To even suggest Frank's call has any involvement in this issue is ridiculous. Racing is entertainment and Frank has a special way of presenting it at times.

It would be like when Dennis Miller was on Monday Night Football and yucking it up. Would you blame him if on the next snap a player was fatally injured?

There is no moral to the story. It's simply sad for all involved.

As I said before. We all feel terrible.

[iceknight]

Really sad to hear this untimely death of a human being who was very important to this family and friends. The idea about trying to make a contribution through pleasanton park is a good one. Does anyone have a follow up? It is a dangerous sport and steps taken to reduce injuries and fatalities must be supported all the way.

[horses4courses]

Frank M. would never for one second have made light of this tragedy.
I'm sure if he could take the call back, he would.

Jay Hovdey should be ashamed of himself for suggesting different.
An unfortunate time to have picked for a comic call, but it happened, and that's that.

[chrisl]

I was at the track and did have a bet on this horse...Tragic. My stomach still turns. I have prayed many times over. Chris

[Marshall Bennett]

Frank M. would never for one second have made light of this tragedy.
I never said he did. He was doing an impersonation of another announcer, the jockey fell, and he continued with his comedy call. I realize he didn't know of the spill, but his call goes down as a bad one none the less because of it.

[Marshall Bennett]

To even suggest Frank's call has any involvement in this issue is ridiculous.
I never said it did. You, like the other poster, are twisting my original post around. Learn how to read, smartass.

[v j stauffer]

I never said it did. You, like the other poster, are twisting my original post around. Learn how to read, smartass.

Not the thread for that kind of talk. Plenty of places for that. Please have respect.

Thanks.

[Wagergirl]

I never said it did. You, like the other poster, are twisting my original post around. Learn how to read, smartass.

i'm gonna say that
A) emotions about this are running high.
B) your post did seem to indicate that you felt his race call was inappropriate.

I don't think anyone is being a smart ass, or even not reading correctly. The problem with the written word is that we can each read it with a different "voice." Unfortunately for you, several of us read it with the same "voice." Which apparently not the "voice" you write it in.

[Marshall Bennett]

I stand by my post (37 & 38). In no way did my post (32) suggest Frank had involvement in the accident or made light of it. Stauffer and the other poster were both wrong by what they posted in reply to my original.
Some seem to think because Vick's the voice of Hollywood park he's right about everything he post here. As with the case here, that's not always true.

[MickJ26]

Seems to me that Hovdey has a personal ax to grind with Miramahdi and he's using a sad, tragic event as a platform for it.

[RXB]

Some seem to think because Vick's the voice of Hollywood park he's right about everything he post here.

Who would these people be? I've never seen any sign of this.

[Broad Brush]

So much wasted effort here on this "race call" junk??

It was an innocent and un-intentional situation.

If you want to blame, then blame the losers who go down and scream
at jockeys for a losing race. The jocks are almost never to blame..it
is usually the horse.

Jockeys have always been heros to me. They are tougher and are
required to show more dedication all year---more than any other
athlete.

I always wonder why further advances in safety equipment have not
been pursued for the jocks.

I hope for the best for his family.

[Mr G]

R.I.P.

[duncan04]

Perhaps the moral to the story is, don't try and be a comedian and announcer at the same time. It could come back to haunt you.
I didn't see the race, but to be doing an impersonation while a jockey lay fatally injured on the track seems bad regardless whether he knew of it or not.
I've never been a fan of Frank's race calls anyway. He sounds dull when he tries to be serious. He's a better comedian.


You think that is the moral of the story?? I say its a non issue. He didnt see the incident as it was blocked by trees not because he was doing an impersonation. Tragic incident and thoughts and prayers go out to the riders friends and family as well as his fellow riders. And a big :ThmbDown: to Jay Hovdey. No reason for the tweet and he could of at least spelled the jocks name right. Seems like Jay had an axe to grind and decided that was a perfect time. :(

[PaceAdvantage]

I stand by my post (37 & 38). In no way did my post (32) suggest Frank had involvement in the accident or made light of it. Stauffer and the other poster were both wrong by what they posted in reply to my original.
Some seem to think because Vick's the voice of Hollywood park he's right about everything he post here. As with the case here, that's not always true.No, I can assure you not everyone thinks Vic is right about everything he posts (here and elsewhere).

Frank was doing what Frank does often. A lot of people seem to enjoy it, and that's why he keeps doing it. This fatal accident had nothing to do with the call, and the call had nothing to do with the accident. Leave it be all around.

[Shelby]

Make a separate thread if you want to debate the call. Can we keep this thread to pay our respects to Jorge please?

[Wagergirl]

Make a separate thread if you want to debate the call. Can we keep this thread to pay our respects to Jorge please?

I agree.

is there a way to separate those comments out and put them on a separate thread. This isn't about the call.

I read that they are going to name a race for him on Sunday's card.

[FiveWide]

Make a separate thread if you want to debate the call. Can we keep this thread to pay our respects to Jorge please?


Agree 100%! The call must be back burnered.

RIP Jorge and my condolences go out to his family and friends.


-Five

[wisconsin]

I read that they are going to name a race for him on Sunday's card.


Hollywood Park had one for him last night.

[Wagergirl]

Hollywood Park had one for him last night.

That is a great way to honor him.

Here is the article I read that said they were also doing that at Pleasanton.

http://www.drf.com/news/pleasanton-jockey-herrera-dies-head-injuries-following-spill