By T. D. Thornton
Jockey Mario Gutierrez was fined $1,000 by the Monmouth Park stewards Aug. 12 for “careless riding” aboard Nyquist (Uncle Mo) in the GI Betfair.com Haskell Invitational S. July 31.
Nyquist, the GI Kentucky Derby winner, finished fourth in the Haskell as the even-money favorite. Gutierrez was not penalized with a suspension, nor did the infraction result in a disqualification.
The ruling cited a violation of New Jersey racing rule 13:70-11.1 involving crossing or weaving: “When clear, a horse may be taken to any part of the course but no horse shall cross over or weave in front of other horses in such a way as to impede them or constitute or cause interference or intimidation.”
The Monmouth stewards did not immediately return a Friday morning phone call requesting a more detailed explanation. But the track's media relations office relayed a brief statement via email later in the afternoon that said the stewards' reasoning behind the penalty was for “coming out and crowding the field going into the first turn.”
Gutierrez's agent, Tom Knust, said on Friday that the penalty was unexpected.
“They didn't have an inquiry. They didn't say anything to him at the time,” Knust said. “They reviewed those films like four or five days later. They called Mario and said that they were going to fine him for careless riding in the first turn. It kind of surprised us, and I didn't see what the stewards were talking about, but they're the judges.”
According to the list of rulings posted on the New Jersey Racing Commission website, the Monmouth stewards have issued six previous “crossing or weaving” penalties to jockeys so far at the 2016 meet. Four resulted in the same $1,000 fine; two resulted in three-day suspensions. -@thorntontd
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