Laffit Pincay Jr.'s Father Dies

Yesterday evening my cell phone chirped, and the following message was delivered to me via Twitter from Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr.:

   "A sad day today. My father, esteemed jockey 
    Laffit Pincay Sr. passed away. I planned to 
    go to Venezuela this month when they honored him."

That's the thing about Twitter -- you can get the latest news bits, or just keep up with your friends... but sometimes the news is sad.

Pincay's father, Laffit Pincay, Sr., died August 11 in Venezuela. The elder Pincay was a famous jockey in Panama who moved to Venezuela to ride after divorcing Laffit's mother. In 1964, he came to the U.S. to ride the Argentine-bred Primordial II to a victory in the 1964 Display Handicap at Aqueduct, and a 6th place finish in the Washington D.C. International at Laurel. He retired as a jockey in 1970.

My condolences go out to Laffit on the loss of his father, and also to HRTV host Laffit Pincay III on the loss of his grandfather.