Leroy Allemand
Farewell to a friend, by Reverend Eddie Donnally
Former Jockey Leroy Allemand, 64, was killed in an auto accident on Interstate 10 in Northern Florida early Tuesday morning, Feb. 7. Friends say he was driving from his home in Summerville, SC to his native Louisiana to visit relatives.
His career as a Quarter Horse and thoroughbred jockey ended at the defunct Riverside Downs in Henderson Ky. In 1998 when a starting gate allegedly hooked to 110 volt electric current shocked the horses and riders. His story can be read on the “Fallen Heroes” Tab on JockeysandJeans.com.
In writing his story, I came to know the affable, positive and Christian former jockey whose chief goal in life was helping others as he acted as the chaplain in his building that housed the physically disabled.
I prayed with him several times and I know he rests in the arms of Jesus. Still, I enjoyed our conversations and will miss him as will his family and many friends
Leroy Allemand: Helping Others, Helping Himself
By Eddie Donnally
At the now defunct Riverside Downs in Henderson, Kentucky, jockey Leroy Allemand was atop his mount in the starting gate. The gate opened. All felt an electric current surge through their bodies. Every horse and jockey collapsed.
“I cut a flip and landed on my back,” said former Quarter Horse Jockey Leroy Allemand. “I got up and tried to get away from my mount. But he ran over me, and this time I knew I hurt my back bad.”
He said the starter, for reasons unknown, decided to power the door’s opening with a 110 volt line and not the usual 12 volt battery. While all the horses and riders were shocked, his was the only serious injury. The track closed down shortly after the incident, ending any hope of a law suit. The May 21, 1989 accident ended a 17-year career that included some 600 victories and several stakes race wins. He broke several vertebrae, spent weeks in a hospital and has had six back surgeries.
“I have pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said from his home in a Summerville, S.C.
apartment. “I wake up at all hours of the night and take pain pills. Then I can lie down again and sleep another couple of hours. I can’t walk very far, or sit for long. But I’m not a quitter. Even though I hurt all day long I tell all the people where I live to not give up. I know I never will.”
He lives in a building dedicated to the disabled. Some there, he said, have even more severe disabilities and he tries to help as much as possible. He recently aggravated his back injury by standing on a stool and helping one resident remove a can from her cabinet. He spends much of his time being their “defacto chaplain,” taking the time to listen to their laments and offer encouragement.
“I know how important it is to get things off your chest,” he said. “I try to help as much as I can. I believe by helping others God helps me. If I can make life better for anyone I’m going to do it. My faith is important to me “
He said he regularly attends church and often visits his former wife, his daughters, Danielle and Andrea, and his five grandchildren, all of whom live in the area. He said family is the reason he moved there after his injury.
He said the monthly check he receives from Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund is vital. “It pays the bills,” he said. “No way I could make it otherwise. I’d probably be homeless. “
Leroy, like many severely injured former jockeys, has managed to rebuild a shattered life. His life includes faith, family, friends and service to others, making it full by any standard. Despite his new life’s limitations and constant pain, the last thing Leroy or other severely injured riders want is sympathy.
“I’m a happy man,” he said. “I don’t look back. I look ahead. I’m thankful I can walk and I’m always going to do what I can to help others. People don’t know how much it helps them when they help somebody else.”
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