Jockey Miguel Mena died Sunday evening at age 34, his agent Richie Price confirmed to Horse Racing Nation on Monday. The news was first reported by Marty McGee of the Daily Racing Form.
Saturday would have been Mena's 35th birthday.
According to WAVE-TV in Louisville, Mena was killed as a pedestrian on Interstate 64, when he was hit by a car around 7:30 p.m. EDT. The report said police are treating the incident as an accident and no charges are pending.
A native of Lima, Peru, Mena began his jockey career in 2003, racing at Calder Race Course in Miami. He finished with 2,079 career wins and more than US$72 million in earnings. The jockey earned two Grade 1 wins in his career, aboard Champagne d’Oro in the 2010 Test Stakes at Saratoga and Pool Play in the 2011 Stephen Foster.
In 2021, the jockey had two victories in graded stakes races, with Masqueparade in the Ohio Derby (G3) and Dalika in the Robert G. Dick Memorial (G3).
He earned his last victory on Oct. 24 at Keeneland on Delta Gaa Cat in a US$36,000 claiming race.
He is survived by his wife, April, and two daughters.
