Two Jockeys, One Whip, No Clear Answers at Parx

A bizarre incident at Parx racetrack Monday, in which one jockey apparently urged his horse to a second-place finish after taking possession of a rival’s whip during the stretch run, did not result in a disqualification. However, the riders involved will be summoned to a stewards’ hearing to determine whether the alleged exchange was the result of an unauthorized snatching, a willful handing over, or an accident.

The incident, first reported in the Paulick Report, occurred in the fourth race, a 1 1/16 miles route for $15,000 NW4L claimers.

Just inside the three-sixteenths pole, a bearing-out Interchange (Fairbanks), ridden by Angel Castillo, brushed with the tiring Distant Thoughts (Lemon Drop Kid), ridden by Pierre Hernandez-Ortega, causing Castillo to drop his whip. As the pair approached the final furlong racing fourth and fifth, respectively, Castillo, according to the Equibase chart, “reached over and grabbed Hernandez-Ortega’s whip out of his hands.”

Interchange rallied to finish second at 7-2 odds, beaten three-quarters of a length. Distant Thoughts, the 8-5 favorite, faded to sixth.

“That incident was [reviewed by] the stewards,” Walter Remmert, the acting executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, told TDN. “They were aware of it during the running of the race. When they made the race official, they determined it not to be a disqualification event for the horse, but then left it to be a [potential] regulatory violation by the jockeys.”

Remmert said hearing notifications would be delivered to both jockeys by Wednesday, and that the hearing would occur within 10 days. He cited Pennsylvania racing rule 163.236 (“Striking and touching during race”) as being specifically applicable, but added that the stewards will also need to determine if the whip transfer was an act of force or a complicit exchange.

“If it was a ‘taking’ it would be a violation for one person,” Remmert said. “If it was a ‘giving’ it would be a violation for both.”

Monday’s on-track oddity is the second rules-related incident in five months at Parx involving both Castillo and Hernandez-Ortega.

On May 12, Castillo was abruptly removed from his mounts and escorted off the Parx property after a search of the jockeys’ quarters turned up an illegal electrical stimulating device that was allegedly concealed within a riding glove bearing the initials “A.C.”

On May 28, after Castillo’s attorney presented evidence to clear his client at a stewards’ hearing, Castillo was exonerated, and the PHRC instead charged Hernandez-Ortega with possession of the “buzzer.” According to Remmert, Hernandez-Ortega is currently riding pending an appeal; his hearing has twice been postponed and is now scheduled for October.

Jim Marini, who has been Castillo’s jockey agent since 2012 (but also previously represented Hernandez-Ortega), said that his rider’s explanation was that the two “got tangled.” He added that given the recent history between the jockeys, it’s unlikely one would have willfully handed a whip to the other during the running of a race.

“[Castillo] doesn’t understand why Pierre is still riding,” Marini said. “But they have to ride against each other every day, so it is what it is. I wouldn’t say they’re adversaries. I don’t think there’s much communication or talk between them at all at this point. It’s a tough situation.”

Attempts to reach Hernandez-Ortega or his agent were unsuccessful.

Mike Farro, the husband and assistant trainer to Patricia Farro, the conditioner of Distant Thoughts, said that after the race, Hernandez-Ortega told him he had lost his whip, but that the jockey was not initially aware Castillo had ended up with it.

“They shouldn’t let it slide,” Mike Farro said. “Something should be done. You just can’t do that. As far as my horse goes, I’m not happy about it, but our horse wasn’t going to finish anywhere. He was stopping anyway. But if he was in contention, I’d be very upset.”