A photograph captured by Track Magazine's Mark Herron after the Grade 1 Refrigerator Stakes at Lone Star Park on Oct. 25 raised questions about the status of suspended trainer Josue Ponce. The image, published in the print edition of the magazine and republished here with permission, shows winner Valiant Tiberias exiting the Grand Prairie, Texas, track's winner's circle after having his picture taken while sporting a lime green shadow roll and a matching black and lime green browband with “Ponce” stitched in the center. Valiant Tiberias ran the race with blinkers, and the browband became visible after their removal.
Ponce has continued to fight the suspension, appealing the stewards' decision to the full commission at last month's meeting. The commission voted to uphold the stewards' ruling.
According to the program, 4-year-old Valiant Tiberias is trained by Alonso Neri. Neri has trained since 2016 but his statistics exploded this year when he went from 17 starters in 2019 to 298 this year, with stable earnings of $1.8 million and a win percentage of 28 percent.
When consulted about the photograph, a spokesman for the Texas Racing Commission would neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation was ongoing into the situation.
Neri is also listed as the trainer for I Am Valiant, winner of the G2 Dash for Cash Derby and Jordan Eagle, winner of the G2 TQHA Classic Stakes – both in 2020. Those two had previously been trained by Ponce.
Valiant Tiberias is owned by Sergio Holguin, Clifton Nielsen, and Felix Rodriguez. He was also the winner of this year's G2 Mr. Jet Moore, as well as last year's G1 Championship at Sunland Park and G3 AQHA Adequan Derby Challenge Championship at Ruidoso Downs.
Ponce was banned by Ruidoso in 2018 after sending out four winners in trial races for that year's All American Quarter Horse Derby. Track officials told the Paulick Report at the time that two of the four horses saddled by Ponce that day were vanned off the track after winning their trials, and the other two were “in distress” and required medical attention. Those horses later recovered.
“The decisions to exclude your further participation from racing at Ruidoso are due to the apparent inhumane treatment of the horses under your care,” read a letter written to Ponce from Jeff True, general manager of All American Ruidoso Downs LLC notifying him of his ban. “Horses under your care demonstrated that they were unfit to complete the race and return to the winners' enclosure reflecting a lack of conditioning or some other mistreatment which puts them and all other horses and jockeys competing with them at risk of catastrophic injury.
“(All American Ruidoso Downs) is taking this action to protect the horses and riders competing at its facility from negligence or mistreatment by trainers, grooms, jockeys, or others on its property or competing in races here. The racing public, track management, and regulatory authorities expect horses to be treated and raced under humane and safe conditions and the performance of your horses on Sunday, August 19th, reflect negligence, a failure to prepare them adequately, or indicate some other improper treatment prior to the races.”
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