Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux is scheduled to appear before Del Mar stewards on July 29 in an attempt to resume his riding career, reports the Daily Racing Form. The rider has been suspended since March 4 for failing to appear before stewards to address alleged disorderly conduct and failure to abide by an agreement with the Winners Foundation concerning use of alcohol or other mind-altering substances.
The March 4 ruling says Desormeaux is suspended “pending an appearance at a hearing before a board of stewards to answer to charges alleging violation of CHRB rule No. 1874 (Disorderly Conduct – Causing a disturbance) and No. 1485(d) (License Subject to Conditions and Agreement – Failure to abide by an agreement with the Winners Foundation).”
Desormeaux has a history of alcohol-related issues, but attorney Roger Licht said the rider has undergone sobriety treatment in recent months.
“He sounds great and very anxious to get back to work,” Licht told DRF.
In the summer of 2020, Desormeaux was involved in a dispute at a Del Mar RV park that led to a 15-day suspension. He was reinstated after an in-patient rehabilitation program and received a conditional license after signing an agreement with the Winners Foundation to refrain from using “mind altering and mood changing substances” from Dec. 14, 2020, through Dec. 26, 2021.
The November 2021 incident, also at the Del Mar RV park and at which time Desormeaux admitted to consuming alcohol, was a violation of that agreement.
Desormeaux last rode on Jan. 23, 2022.
On Jan. 28, 2022, apparently unrelated to the issues in California, Desormeaux was arrested in Louisiana on charges of Domestic Abuse Battery/Strangulation, and later released on a $25,000 bond. No charges have yet been filed in that case, but Stronach Group officials said after the arrest that Desormeaux was “not welcome” to ride at their tracks, including Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields in California.
Desormeaux's career includes 6,116 victories and over $290 million in earnings, with three Kentucky Derby wins and six Breeders' Cup victories.
Read more at the Daily Racing Form.
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