Jockey Shawn Spikes' Drowning At Lake Del Valle Mourned

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — The horse racing community is mourning the loss of jockey Shawn Spikes Jr. who has been identified as the man who drowned Tuesday evening while boating at Lake Del Valle in unincorporated Alameda County south of Livermore. The 23-year-old was a resident of San Francisco, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

"Sadly, it is Shawn Spikes, the jockey," said Alicia Hughes of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, who noted that the horse racing community has been showing an outpouring of support for Spikes and those who loved him.

"He was so popular, I could not begin to extoll his virtues. To have his life extinguished is incomprehensible," said David Duggan, general manager and vice president at Golden Gate Fields, where Spikes got his first career win aboard Game Seeker in 2016. "Everybody's got their jaw on the ground."

"Damn man I miss you already. RIP," wrote race official Don August on Twitter.

"The Jockeys’ Guild is deeply saddened by the loss of life of our brother Shawn. Known throughout California riding colonies as a kind-hearted, compassionate and complete gentlemen. A proud member of the Jockeys’ Guild, his passion and love for horse racing will be always remembered. He’s truly missed," Jockeys' Guild spokesman Darrell Haire said in a statement.

According to the horse racing database Equibase, Spikes last race start was in September at Golden Gate Fields in the Rolling Green Stakes where he finished ninth on the thoroughbred gelding Steel Plank. Spikes won his first race on March 13, 2016 aboard Game Seeker at Golden Gate.

Over his professional racing career that began in 2015, Spikes had 141 starts aboard thoroughbred horses with total winnings of $76,377, according to Equibase. He also worked as a jockey racing quarter horses, Arabians and mixed breeds, with career winnings exceeding $100,000.

Spikes was a West Coast jockey, racing at nearby tracks such as Oak Tree at Pleasanton, Golden Gate Fields, Ferndale, Sacramento, and Santa Rosa. Duggan said that in recent months Spikes was working at Golden Gate Fields at the starting gate and as an exercise rider. He had grown in height through his young career, which may have prevented him from continuing on as a jockey.

"He was a very tall man. As the old adage goes, 'many jockeys grow out of racing.' Shawn grew up," Duggan said. "He was the epitome of a very descent man. We are all devastated with this sad news."

Divers with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team and police and fire crews with the East Bay Regional Park District were called in at about 6 p.m. Tuesday to look for Spikes, who went missing near Swallow Bay, according to EBRPD spokesman Dave Mason.

"We were out there last night until just after midnight, then we fired back up again at six in the morning," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said Wednesday.

Spikes had rented a boat with a group of friends and was not wearing a life vest; his body was recovered in the "late morning" on Wednesday, Mason said

Spikes' drowning was the second at Lake Del Valle in less than a week. Los Gatos resident Florencio Rodriguez Pureco, 31, drowned Saturday, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau. Pureco also rented a boat with a group of friends or family and somehow fell overboard; he was not wearing a life vest either. Pureco's body was found on Sunday.

The men drowned during the Bay Area's first heat wave, when temperatures spiked into the 100s in the hottest areas and people flocked to beaches and lakes seeking relief.

See Also:

• California Summer Safety Guide 2019