Apprentice jockey Marcano dies in motorcycle accident

Apprentice jockey Luis Yamil Marcano died Sunday night in a motorcycle accident in his native Puerto Rico.

Marcano, 19, was driving a motorcycle that was hit by a pickup truck, according to multiple media reports. The driver of the truck fled the scene.

According to a Facebook post by Camarero Racecourse, Marcano graduated from the Agustín Mercado Reverón Equestrian Vocational School in 2022. Marcano began riding at Camarero on Jan. 1 before moving his tack to the U.S., where he rode primarily at Belterra Park and was the Ohio track's leading apprentice jockey.

Marcano was scheduled to ride Friday at Tampa Bay Downs for the first time.

“He was a happy kid who was learning every day and I think he had it in him to have a good career if he stayed dedicated,” Marcano's friend and fellow jockey John Hiraldo told the Tampa Bay Downs media team.

Marcano had learned the day before the accident his girlfriend was expecting their child.

“It sucks,” Hiraldo said. “You gotta keep going, but it’s going to be hard to forget the good friendship we had."