Race to Honor Late Jockey Lopez Dec. 18 at Oaklawn

Friends and family of James Lopez will honor the memory of the late rider with a race named after him Dec. 18 at Oaklawn Park.

Beth Chorpening, one of the organizers, and Jennifer Hoyt, director of racing at Oaklawn, said the race will be called the 1st Annual Lopez Commemorative Classic. It is the sixth race, a starter allowance race, according to Chorpening.

Lopez died at age 43 this summer from complications from gall bladder surgery and other health issues. Prior to his retirement in 2011, he won riding titles at Oaklawn, Louisiana Downs, and Turfway Park and notched four graded stakes victories, the last of which was the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) on General Quarters  at Tampa Bay Downs in 2009. Lopez won 1,077 races from 1995-2011. In more recent years, he worked as an exercise rider.

KING: Ex-Jockey Lopez Dies From Health Complications at 43

"The best thing I could say about James is he was an exceedingly great person," said Chorpening of her friendship with Lopez. "He was always happy. He always had a smile. He tried to cheer people up and make sure they were having a good day, whether or not he was having a bad day. He could do anything and everything he could to help out other people."

Chorpening said it was important to organizers to have the race at a track where Lopez competed. Among the races that Lopez won at Oaklawn was the 2002 Essex Handicap (G3) on Crafty Shaw  and the 1999 Bayakoa Stakes on Really Polish .