Álvaro Pineda

Who was Álvaro Pineda?

Álvaro Pineda was a Mexican jockey who competed in thoroughbred horse racing in the United States. A top jockey in California, in 1966 Álvaro Pineda finished second in wins at Del Mar Racetrack to Donald Pierce then was the track's leading rider in 1968. He made one appearance in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 13th in 1967. Pineda's best mount may have been the Argentina-bred colt Figonero which he rode to victory in the Hollywood Gold Cup and to a new world record for nine furlongs in the Del Mar Handicap.

In 1974, Álvaro Pineda's peers voted him the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, awarded annually to a jockey in American racing who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.

In 1975, while competing at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, Álvaro Pineda was killed in a freak accident from a blow to his head when his horse, Austin Mittler, reared in the starting gate and flipped over, crushing his head against the steel frame of the gate.