PAYERAS DEDICATES FIVE WIN NIGHT TO BARRINGTON HARVEY

         It was a bittersweet Sunday for jockey Edgar Payeras, who has become Mr. Sunday Night at Los Alamitos thanks to his propensity to score multiple victories on the closing racing night of the week. Last Sunday, Payeras tied his personal best and track record for races around the turn by winning five races on a single night. It also came on the day that the Los Alamitos racing community lost a past member of its jockey colony, Barrington Harvey, who passed away in his homeland of Jamaica at the age of 62. Payeras had a great friendship with Harvey and on his big night, the multiple champion jockey at Los Alamitos dedicated his five wins to memory of his friend.                                                   

           “It was a special night, but it was a sad day.,” Payeras said. “We know what happened with our fellow rider, my good friend Barrington Harvey. What kept me going all day, even before the races is that about two weeks ago, Barrington sent me a message on Facebook telling me to “Keep things up, you’re doing good.”                                

          When I saw the post (today), I said, ‘you know what I need to keep things up.’ Last week I was a little down and yesterday I was little down, but he was reminding me to keep things up. We have a cross in the jockey’s room and I prayed for him and decided to ride in memory of Barrington. He was a good friend, always giving us advice. I wanted to keep things up and I went five for five. It’s the second time I’ve done that. This one was for Barrington.”

          Payeras five wins, which were in five consecutive races, were as follows:

           Race 2 - Helluva Louella

           Race 3 - Fly Zapper

           Race 4 - Crypto Craze

           Race 5 - Cangrejo

           Race 6 - it Is Written (photo)

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