Lenny Pike Jr., a longtime jockey agent who endeared himself to horsemen and racetrack personnel throughout the United States, was found dead Saturday morning by police in his second-floor condominium in Metairie, La. He was 59. Pike was best known for his lengthy tenure as the agent for Robby Albarado, a 2018 Hall of Fame nominee who was the regular rider of two Horse of the Year recipients, Mineshaft (2003) and Curlin (2007-08). Pike had worked most recently for Corey Lanerie, the perennial leading jockey at Churchill Downs and one of the top riders at the current meet at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. A racetrack colleague who lived in the same building as Pike said his car had not left the premises for several days when officials were called Saturday to check on him. Another colleague said Pike had been troubled in recent weeks while referencing his history of problems with substance abuse. Pike was an only child whose father, Lenny Sr., was a horsemen’s representative in their hometown of Chicago prior to his death in the late 1990s. The younger Pike became an agent at a young age and went on to work mostly in Chicago, Kentucky, and Louisiana, although his reach and travels were even broader, given the transitive nature of the racing business and his many years of employment for top jockeys. Pike dubbed himself “Len Len, The Horseman’s Friend” and grew a network of connections into the thousands. He began working with Albarado in Chicago and Kentucky in 1994 and was his agent for the vast majority of a career during which the jockey has accumulated more than $214 million in mount earnings. “Lenny was one of the best agents you’ll ever find,” said his friend and fellow agent, Dennis Cooper, who has traveled the same racing circuits as Pike since the mid-1980s. Pike’s mother died last year, sending him into “a dark place,” said Cooper. “It’s a very sad situation. I can’t hardly talk about it. We were too close.” Pike was married and divorced twice and had no children. Cooper said he knows of no immediate survivors and was unsure who would be responsible for Pike’s estate or who will be privy to further information on the circumstances of his death.