Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey Alexander Crispin has been suspended for 30 days and fined $1,000 for carrying the wrong weight during a race at Laurel Park in Maryland, the Daily Racing Form reported Tuesday.
On Wednesday, DRF reported the circumstances surrounding the ruling. Maryland stewards had heard rumors about Crispin allegedly riding under weight.
The race in question is the ninth on Jan. 16, 2021, in which Alpha Queue finished third. The horse, trained by Lacey Gaudet, was disqualified, and the Equibase chart notes that it “carried wrong weight.” Crispin's listed weight in the chart, presumably the weight at which he was supposed to ride Alpha Queue, was 115 pounds.
Video evidence showed that Crispin weighed in at 115 before the race, but 110 afterward.
According to the condition book, Crispin can ride at as low as 108 pounds.
Maryland rules require disqualification if the jockey rides at least one pound below listed weight, while overweights may be penalized with warnings.
“We felt, as a group, that it was an integrity issue, and it needed to be addressed,” chief state steward Adam Campola told drf.com. “We wanted to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.”
Two stewards outside of Maryland, commenting without specific knowledge of Crispin's case, told the Daily Racing Form that the fine and suspension suggest Crispin may have deliberately falsified his weight, or knew that he was not riding under the assigned weight.
Read more at the Daily Racing Form.
The post Updated: ‘Integrity Issue’ Behind 30-Day Suspension Of Eclipse Award-Winning Apprentice appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
