Horse Flips Over And Kills Rider At GG Fields
 

ALBANY, Calif. -- An exercise rider at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley was killed Sunday morning when a spooked horse flipped over and fell on top of him.

The filly was being led out of the barn at about 6 a.m. when something spooked her, causing her to flip over and fall on the 58-year-old exercise rider, according to publicity manager Tom Farrell.

The horse did not appear to have been injured.

"It's a tragic accident," Farrell said. "It's very sad."

http://www.ktvu.com/news/17993116/detail.html

Wow. Very sad.

not to dismiss the tragedy but how does that story go out as happening at a racetrack in bezerkley?

if it walks like oakland and quacks like oakland, isn't it oakland? i mean...if you're not going to pretend it's not albany, why choose berkeley?

Probably just a rookie on the weekend desk mistake.

FWIW, it's the "North Berkeley" station on BART if one elects to do mass transit to Golden Gate Fields. Amazing the number of people in the Bay Area that do not even realize the city of "Albany" exists along the Bay.

Also GGF lists a Berkeley mailing address on their website.

very sad but I'm impressed as hell at a 58-yr old excercise rider. Tough gig at any age.

The risk these riders take each and every day is often over looked until a disaster like this. My sincere prayers for his family for their loss.

Maybe Travis knows more about this poor guy...

His name was Ignacio Ramirez.

Prayers to his family.

A shame.

The story I've heard without confirmation that it was a freak accident somewhat relevant to the tapeta surface and the "borders" to maintain the integrity of the tapeta with the paddock non-tapeta and the transition between.

To keep the paddock and barn surface from mixing with the tapeta, I'm told there are some little ridges built like one might use in a backyard around a patio to differentiate surfaces.

When the filly spooked, and the rider was tossed, his helmet struck one of the ridges and split open. The story is he was apparently deceased at that moment, but the filly stepped on his head in her move to get back up.


No morbidity intended, but I do think most of us real thoroughbred lovers would want to know what actually happened to cause the death of Ignacio Ramirez.