Randy Paul Romero (December 22, 1957 – August 29, 2019) was a

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

in the sport of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J. Romero was a Louisiana

state trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...

who

trained Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

s and later, after a drunk driver crashed into his police car and permanently disabled him, he began training

s for

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. The 1978 movie ''

Casey's Shadow ''Casey's Shadow'' is a 1978 sports drama Metrocolor film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Walter Matthau. The film was based on an article in ''The New Yorker'' by John McPhee ("Ruidoso", published April 29, 1974). Much of the exterior shoo ...

'' is based on Lloyd Romero and his family. He was elected into the

Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

May 27, 2010.

Career

In 1975, Romero began his professional riding career at

Evangeline Downs Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino is a racetrack in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, just east of Opelousas. It is owned and operated by Boyd Gaming. With a one-mile oval track, the facility provides close to 1,000 horse stalls for Thoroughbred f ...

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

. Nicknamed the "Ragin' Cajun", in 1983 at

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Plantation may refer to: *Oaklawn (Huntsville, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) *Oaklawn Plantation (Leon County, Florida) *Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana) The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic pl ...

racetrack in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Romero suffered a near career-ending injury when he received major burns to two-thirds of his body from a freak fire that erupted while taking a

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

. He had rubbed himself down with alcohol and moved into the sauna in the jockey's room. As he did he accidentally broke a live light bulb that immediately ignited his entire body. After seven months of rehabilitation, he returned to compete at the

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, where he won his third of four riding titles and set a track record with 181 wins. Romero's success led to owner

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was inducte ...

and trainer Shug McGaughey choosing him to be the regular rider for

Personal Ensign Personal Ensign (April 27, 1984 – April 8, 2010) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who retired undefeated with 13 wins. At the time, this was the longest win streak for a horse at the elite level of American racing in 80 years. Her come ...

. Romero rode the future

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

to an undefeated career, capped off with a victory in the 1988

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or ...

, an event he had won the previous year aboard

Sacahuista {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Sacahuista , image = , caption = , sire = Raja Baba , grandsire = Bold Ruler , dam = Nalees Flying Flag , damsire = Hoist The Flag , sex = Filly , foaled = 1984 , country = United States , colour = ...

for trainer

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...

. The following year he won his third straight

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

race, taking the Juvenile Fillies event with Go for Wand. He was aboard Go for Wand and in the lead when she broke down in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Distaff race. Romero broke his pelvis and several ribs, and the filly had to be

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

. While Romero met with great success as a jockey, the downside of his career was a number of racing-related injuries requiring more than twenty

surgeries Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

. He retired in July 1999 having ridden 4,285 winners, notably winning a number of important

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

events.

Health problems

In 2002, Romero's health problems were added to when he learned that the disordered eating required to maintain riding weight during his years as a jockey had severely damaged his

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

s. He said he began vomiting his food at an early age in the practice known as "flipping" in the world of jockeys. In addition, his

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

was damaged by a tainted

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

received during one of his many operations. Along with fellow jockey

Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs. Sellers won several national ...

, he was featured in the 2004

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

titled ''

Jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

''. Directed by

Kate Davis Kathryn L. "Kate" Davis (born February 4, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and bassist. Early life Davis started learning music on the violin. She moved to the Pacific Northwest in middle school and began to study the double bass. She p ...

, the films tells the story of their health problems resulting from racing injuries and the long-term effects of

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...

to maintain racing weight. For a number of years, Romero suffered from

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

and on February 18, 2008 he had a kidney removed at a

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

hospital. His remaining kidney did not work very well and he had to receive dialysis treatments several times each week. On June 19, 2019, Romero entered

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

in Lafayette due to his

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

which was detected in 2015. Romero died on August 29, 2019, due to stomach cancer.

Legacy

Romero was voted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

in 2010.ESPN – May 29, 2010
/ref>

References

External links

Boston University, WBUR Public Radio story on Randy Romero

NTRA Bio Randy Romero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Randy 1957 births 2019 deaths People from Erath, Louisiana Cajun jockeys American jockeys United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States