suspensions

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Angel Sanchez-Pinero has been banned a combined four years and fined a combined $50,000 for two out-of-competition positive tests involving banned substances. Sanchez-Pinero is already serving a combined 10-year ban for a series of medication violations stemming from 2024 onwards....

TDN Book Review There's so much to cover in Oisin Murphy's recently released autobiography, "Sacrifice, A Year in the Life of a Champion Jockey," that it's hard to know where to start. But when it comes to trying to capture what he had to say in this compelling, 224-page book, there is no better place to begin with than his many off-the-track troubles, which have been one of the central themes of his career. In the midst of a booming career, Murphy was handed a 14-month suspension in 2022 by...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 10/07/2022 Licensee: Leonard Rivero, owner Penalty:...

According to numerous sources, the Pennsylvania Racing Commission stopped several cars over the weekend going through the backstretch gates at Parx and the search uncovered a number of illegal items, including syringes and an electrical device. According to the sources, at least three people have already been summarily suspended, including a jockey and at least two trainers. A groom was also found to have a gun in his possession and marijuana, which is illegal in the state. The TDN was unable to reach anyone at the racing commission for additional...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 09/16/2022 Licensee: Victor Espinoza, jockey Penalty: $500 fine Violation: Excessive use of...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.   CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 06/10/2022 Licensee: Jessica Pyfer, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation: Careless riding Explainer: Jockey Jessica Pyfer, who rode Picture of a Lady in the first race at Santa Anita Park on June 5, 2022, is suspended for...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 03/23/2022 Licensee: Liparit Gharibyan, owner Penalty: Reinstatement of good standing Violation: N/A Explainer: Owner Liparit Gharibyan, having complied with the provisions of California Horse Racing Board rule #1876 (Financial Responsibility--$146.13 to So. Cal. Equine Foundation) is restored...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.    Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 03/04/2022 Licensee: Kent Desormeaux, jockey Penalty: Suspension Violation: Non-appearance for hearing Explainer: Jockey Kent Desormeaux, having failed to respond to written notice to appear before the Board of Stewards at Santa Anita Park on or before...

As a result of standard out-of-competition testing, Gulfstream Park has taken immediate action to suspend five trainers that have been found to be in violation of the racetrack's clenbuterol restrictions. The five suspended trainers are Georgina Baxter, Gilberto Zerpa, Peter Walder, Rohan Crichton and Daniel Pita, according to published reports. Gulfstream Park enacted the restriction on clenbuterol as a house rule at the beginning of the 2019/2020 Championship Meet to further address and implement improved safety, transparency and accountability standards. A total of 10 barns at Gulfstream Park were randomly...

After racking up three safety-related riding penalties--two of which caused racing accidents within the first four weeks of the meet--jockey Leo Salles has been suspended by the Woodbine Racetrack stewards through Dec. 5. Salles, 27, a Brazilian native who has previously ridden in the Middle East, told the Toronto Sun that he accepted responsibility for the latest accident on July 11 and won't be appealing the ruling, although he did term the suspension as overly harsh. "I think I deserve some days, but I just think it was extreme," Salles...

Trainer Richard Vega has been hit with a two-year suspension by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after a May 25 backstretch raid at Parx allegedly turned up a number of needles and syringes in his tack room. Paulick Report was the first to report on Vega's suspension, which was handed down June 29 and does not expire until June 28, 2023. According to a ruling posted on the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission's website, during the search of Vega's tack room investigators found 21 loaded syringes, 18 needles, one intravenous filled bag...

Aparna Battula, the jockey-turned-trainer who has not started a horse since New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) investigators confiscated 83 injectable medication vials and 36 needles from her Monmouth Park tack room July 29, 2019, had her training license suspended 2 1/2 years and was fined $7,500 in a post-appeal commission ruling on those violations during the board's May 19 meeting. Commissioners voted 4-0 to impose a penalty that was slightly stiffer than the two-year ban and $6,500 fine recommended by a New Jersey administrative law judge (ALJ) after Battula had...