Hawthorne remembers jockey with moment of silence

As investigators continue to try to piece together how Eusebio “Eddie” Razo Jr. died in a fire Tuesday, friends of the Arlington Park jockey are recalling him as always pleasant, quick to smile, and one of the greatest men they could know.

Razo, 46, was found dead Tuesday morning after fire swept through a detached garage near his Long Grove home.

An autopsy performed Wednesday was inconclusive, and toxicology results are pending, said Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey.

“We are waiting to see what the fire marshal has to say as well,” Yancey said. “We are treating it as a pending suspicious death.”

Meanwhile, officials at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero planned a moment of silence for Razo Wednesday afternoon. The track also plans to name this Sunday's last race, the final race of Hawthorne's spring meet, in honor of Razo.

Assistant General Manager Jim Miller said Razo won more races at Hawthorne than any other course in his career.

“Words really can't describe the type of guy Eddie was,” said longtime agent Lindy McDaniel, who was flying here from Canada to be with Razo's family. “If you talk to anyone who knew Eddie, they would always say something good. He was always a professional and always had a big smile on his face.”

Horse racing analyst Joe Kristufek said there's usually a tendency to prop up the memory of someone after he or she has died. But in Razo's case, he said, all the accolades are the exact truth.

“He was a great jockey and an even better person,” Kristufek said. “He was one of the best people I ever met in 20 years in the racing industry.”

Investigators from the state fire marshal's office continued searching for clues Wednesday as to what caused the fire on Razo's property on the 5100 block of Arlington Heights Road.

According to family members, Razo was sitting on a couch inside his home when his wife, Doreen, got into the shower Tuesday morning. When she got out of the shower, the garage was on fire and her husband was nowhere to be seen.

Razo's brother-in-law, Gerald Filipoweski Jr., said Razo's wife knew her husband was inside the burning garage but couldn't get him out,

“We don't know why he went in,” Filipoweski said. “Maybe he saw the smoke. I don't know.”

Razo used the garage to store horse riding gear and small farming equipment, Filipoweski said.

Firefighters arrived shortly after receiving a 911 call at 9:28 a.m. for a report of smoke and found the garage on fire, according to the sheriff's office.

Karen Kates said sheriff's investigators are working with the state fire marshal to determine the cause of the blaze.

Razo was born in Mexico City in 1966 and began galloping horses when he was just 13. He had his jockey license when he was 15 while still living in Mexico and first raced at Arlington Park after a weeklong trip to visit a cousin turned into a two-year stay, according to a Hawthorne Race Course biography.

During his career, Razo amassed 2,692 wins, according to Daily Racing Forum statistics. He won his first riding title in 1988 at Sportsman's Park and his last in 2008 at Oaklawn Park.

McDaniel said he spoke with Razo four or five days ago, and that the jockey was in good spirits. “He was the greatest guy someone could ever work for,” McDaniel said. “It's a real tragedy.”