Shawn Spikes Jr. (March 15, 1996-June 11, 2019) was a professional

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

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 ...

. At Golden Gate Fields, Spikes had a total of 141 starts and 3 career wins. Spikes also won a number of horse races in the California State Fair county horse racing circuit.

Career

Three years after graduating high school, on March 13, 2016, Sean Spikes won his first thoroughbred race, riding the horse 'Game Seeker' in Race 1 at

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of t ...

Education

Sean Spikes attended Gateway High School in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and graduated in 2013.

Disappearance and death

On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Spikes was boating with friends at

Lake Del Valle Lake Del Valle is a storage reservoir located southeast of Livermore, in Alameda County, California. It is within Del Valle Regional Park. Lake description It is on Arroyo Valle (Spanish for "creek of the valley") in the Diablo Range. The lake ...

in unincorporated Alameda County, south of Livermore. Authorities later said it was not clear if Spikes fell, or jumped into the water. It was also not immediately clear if Spikes knew how to swim, or wore a life jacket.

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

police and firefighters responded to the scene and were joined by the

Alameda County Fire Department The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) provides all-risk emergency services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County, California (excluding Fairview), the cities of San Leandro, Dublin, Newark, Union City and Emeryville, the Lawrence B ...

and Sheriff’s Department divers to conduct a search, authorities said. Searchers used a helicopter and boats before calling off the search just after midnight. The search resumed later Wednesday morning, and Spikes’ body was found before noon in more than 40 feet of water, authorities said. Authorities said his relatives were at the lake when he was found.

Legacy

Commemorating Spikes on September 22, 2021 - friend, a former Gateway High School classmate, and recording artist, Marcus Orelias dedicated his third self-titled album to Spikes in an

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post stating in the later of the message; "R.I.P. to my brother, Shawn Spikes. This next one lbumis for you."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spikes, Shawn 1993 births 2019 deaths American jockeys Sportspeople from San Francisco Deaths by drowning in California