Pincay's father, former jockey, dies in Venezuela

Venezuela: Former jockey Laffit Pincay Sr., father of legendary rider LaffitPincay Jr., has died in San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela. He was 86.

According to the Thoroughbred Times, Pincay Sr. was a top rider in Venezuela in the 1940s through to the 1960s after leaving his family in Panama when his son was four or five. 

Pincay Sr. rode Primordial II to a sixth-place finish to Kelso in the 1964 Washington DC International at Laurel Park. Later the same year, the Venezuelan-based horse won the Display Handicap by eight lengths.

"As a kid, I hardly ever saw him," Pincay Jr. told Sports Illustrated in 1971. "He was away in Caracas."

Racing remains hugely popular in Venezuela, although the nation's racing scene is isolated to some degree from South American powerhouses Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

Canonero, representing the Venezuelan trainer/jockey partnership of Juan Arias and Gustavo Avila, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1971.

Top Venezuelan riders to make their mark in the States in recent seasons include Eibar Coa and Javier Castellano.