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Weekly Stewards And Commissions Rulings, Apr. 18-24

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, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.

California
Track: Santa Anita
Date: 04/21/2023
Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Flavien Prat, who rode Conclude in the seventh race at Santa Anita Park on April 9, 2023, is suspended for 3 racing days (April 29, 30 and May 5, 2023) for altering course without sufficient clearance and causing interference approaching the right turn (Hillside turf course). This constitutes a violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1699 (Riding Rules – careless riding).

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 04/21/2023
Licensee: Edwin Alvarez, trainer
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Out-of-competition medication violation
Explainer: Trainer Edwin Alvarez, who worked the horse “Rock N Rye” for removal from the Veterinarian's List on March 6, 2023, at Santa Anita Park, is fined $500 and assessed one half (1/2) point in accordance with California Horse Racing Board Rule #1843.4(a)( (Multiple Medication Violations), (Expires April 21, 2024) pursuant to California Horse Racing Board Rule #1887 (Trainer or Owner to Insure Condition of Horse) for violation of California Horse Racing Board Rule #1866(h)(I) (Veterinarian's List), #1844(d)(5) (Authorized Medication), #1843(d) (Medication, Drugs and Other Substances) and Rule #1843.1(b) (Prohibited Drug Substances – Methocarbamol [Class 4] – first offense in the last 365 days).

New York
Track: Aqueduct
Date: 04/23/2023
Licensee: Trevor McCarthy, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: For having waived his right to an appeal Jockey Mr. Trevor McCarthy is hereby suspended three NYRA racing days May 7th 2023, May 11th 2023, May 12th 2023 inclusive. This for careless riding during the running of the 6th race at Aqueduct Racetrack on April 21st 2023.

Track: Aqueduct
Date: 04/23/2023
Licensee: Samy Camacho, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Mr. Samy Camacho for having waived his right to an appeal is hereby suspended three NYRA racing days May 7th 2023, May 11th 2023, May 12th 2023 inclusive. This for careless riding during the running of the 8th race at Aqueduct Racetrack on April 22nd 2023.

Kentucky
Track: Keeneland
Date: 04/21/2023
Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Flavien Prat who rode Foreign Relations in the sixth race at Keeneland on April 19, 2023, is hereby suspended three (3) racing days, April 26 through April 28, 2023 (inclusive) for careless riding in the stretch that resulted in the disqualification of his mount.

Track: Keeneland
Date: 04/21/2023
Licensee: Chris Block, trainer
Penalty: Forty five-day suspension (25-days stayed) and $500 fine
Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: Upon receipt of notification from the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, the official testing laboratory for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and confirmed at Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, sample number R007378 taken from Knockyoursocksoff, who finished second in the eighth race at Keeneland on October 7, 2022, contained Temazepam in urine (Class A). After a formal hearing before the Board of Stewards and after consideration of testimony and evidence presented, Chris Block is hereby suspended 45 days and fined $500. Twenty days are to be served from May 7, 2023, through May 26, 2023 (inclusive). The remaining 25 days are stayed on the condition that no Class A or Class B medication violations occur in any racing jurisdiction within 365 days from the date of this ruling.

Track: Keeneland
Date: 04/21/2023
Licensee: James Graham, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, James Graham who rode Rush Center in the second race at Keeneland on April 21, 2023, is hereby suspended three (3) racing days, April 29, May 2 and May 3, 2023 for careless riding in the stretch that resulted in the disqualification of his mount.

NEW HISA STEWARDS RULINGS
The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal, except for the voided claim rulings which were sent to the TDN directly. Some of these rulings are from prior weeks as they were not reported contemporaneously.

One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Violations of Crop Rule
Horseshoe Indianapolis
Fernando De La Cruz – violation date April 19; $100 fine, “raising his wrist above his helmet”

Santa Anita
Harvey Barrington – violation date April 21; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 9 strikes

Tampa Bay Downs
Jose Batista – violation date April 22; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 8 strikes

Shoeing Violation
Aqueduct
Rafael Romero – violation date April 20; $500 fine, “Improperly shod”

The post Weekly Stewards And Commissions Rulings, Apr. 18-24 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Jimmy Jerkens Off To Saudi Arabia

Veteran New York trainer Jimmy Jerkens, 64, whose stable has been slumping in recent years, has agreed to train in Saudi Arabia for Prince Faisal bin Khalid Al Saud. Jerkens said he will likely start his new job in Saudi Arabia in mid-May.

The Daily Racing Form's David Grening was first with the story.

Jerkens, the son of Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, has been around the New York tracks for nearly 50 years. After working for his father as an assistant, he went out on his own in 1997. By 2000, he had established himself as a steady winner on the New York circuit who had the type of stock that could compete in stakes. He won 59 races in 2000, good for a 28 percent winning rate, and won six stakes. His numbers stayed relatively stable and in 2018 he won 38 races with stable earnings of $2,922,392. But his fortunes declined every year thereafter and in 2022 he won just four races and had earnings of $365,995 .

“We've just been just existing the last three or four years,” he said. “It got to where I was losing money. This is a hard thing to do, seven days a week, when you're going nowhere.”

Jerkens trained 11 different horses that won Grade I races, including Quality Road (Elusive Quality). He won the GI Florida Derby with Quality Road, who was eventually turned over to trainer Todd Pletcher. Some of his other major wins came in the GI Woodward S., a race he won twice, the GI Santa Anita H., the Queen's Plate, the GI Metropolitan H., the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and the GI Travers S.

“I never had a big stable but I was always lucky to get a lot of good ones,” Jerkens said.

He blames himself for his career heading off in the wrong direction.

“It's probably my fault,” he said. “The game started changing and I probably wasn't proactive enough in keeping the stable going. I got entrenched in my father's era. Back then you could get a reputation of being thorough and doing a good job and you could sit back and the horses would come to you. You did the best you could. It's a different game now. You have to be proactive, you have to go to sales, you have to be on social media. I was never built like that. I never adapted and I'm paying the price.”

Jerkens said it was jockey agent Ron Anderson who recommended him to Prince Faisal. Jerkens left for Saudi Arabia on April 9 and spent five days there meeting with the Prince and his advisors.

“I wasn't interested at first but the more I thought about it it seemed to be an opportunity to get some nice stock to train and not have to worry about the bills and everything else.” he said. “You go over there and all you have to worry about is the training. You get your percentage, you can get bonuses, you can accomplish some nice things with some nice horses. So I bit the bullet and decided to go.

“Everyone I talked to, the Prince, his advisors, they couldn't have been any nicer. They made me feel comfortable, especially the Prince. He's got the warmest, kindest face you could imagine. You felt really at ease around him.”

Jerkens has signed a two-year contract and expects to have about 50 horses under his care. He added that the possibility of Prince Faisal opening a stable in the U.S. has been discussed and, if that happens, Jerkens would likely return to the U.S. to train them.

“That's the most appealing part of this.” he said. “It would be wonderful to be able to do that.”

He said he still has a lot to learn about his new horses, but, so far, he has been impressed.

“The pedigrees are good and they look the part,” he said. “I was really impressed with their condition. They looked really good and had good muscle tone. I didn't know what to expect when they started pulling them out. But I was really impressed with how they looked.”

The post Jimmy Jerkens Off To Saudi Arabia appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Impeccably Bred Yukata Takes Stateside Bow at Aqueduct

2nd-Aqueduct, $84,000, Alw (NW2$X), Opt. Clm ($62,500), 4-21, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.02, fm, 1 length.
YUKATA (IRE) (f, 4, Galileo {Ire}–Blue Kimono {Ire}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}), victorious in a Deauville all-weather maiden at first asking for Jean-Claude Rouget in November 2021, took a conditions race on the turf at ParisLongchamp last April before finishing third as the favorite in the Listed Prix Finlande at the same venue May 19. Well-beaten when last seen in the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) last June, she was part of a favored entry at 3-4 with Arina (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) on U.S. debut. Tugging a bit into the first turn beneath Manny Franco, Yukata–carrying the Brant colors–continued to race freely down the back while never far from the front. Given her cue three wide on the turn, she had dead aim on pacesettiing Canisy (Point of Entry) in upper stretch and took plenty of time to hit top gear, but did her best work late to take it by a length. Arina ran on for third ahead of a troubled Bramble Bay (Bullet Train {GB}), who complete a chalky triple. A half-sister to Brant's 2022 Oceanport S. heroine Kuramata (Ire) (Australia {GB}), SW, $143,809, Yukata is out of a daughter of French SW & MGSP Bastet (Ire) (Giant's Causeway), also the dam of Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who won the 2012 French 1000 Guineas and was second in that year's French Oaks. So enamored was Brant of the family that he first purchased Beauty Parlour's Dansili (GB) filly of 2016 for a second-dearest €450,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale and a few days later, gave a sales-topping €1.7 million for Beauty Parlour herself at the November Breeding Stock Sale. The aforementioned Dansili foal was named Blowout (GB), who defeated the commonly owned 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) in the 2021 GI First Lady S. at Keeneland. Bastet was also responsible for Beauty Parlour's year-younger full-brother Barocci (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), a SW & GSP in France and MGSP in this country before being purchased to stand in Sweden. Yukata's third dam Benediction (Ire) (Day Is Done {Ire}) produced 11 winners, including two-time Australian Horse of the Year Might and Power (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}). Blue Kimono is the dam of the 2-year-old filly Courreges (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and a yearling colt by the Banstead Manor-based superstar. Lifetime Record: SP-Fr, 5-3-0-1, $88,994. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Peter M Brant, Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-White Birch Farm SC (IRE); T-Chad C Brown.

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Apr. 11-17

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, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.

New York

Track: Aqueduct
Date: 04/13/2023
Licensee: Dylan Davis, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Mr. Dylan Davis is hereby suspended three (3) NYRA racing days. This for careless riding during the running of the 1st race at Aqueduct racetrack on April 6th 2023 having appealed a stay has been granted.

Track: Aqueduct
Date: 04/14/2023
Licensee: Jaime Torres, apprentice jockey
Penalty: Fourteen-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: For having waived your right to an appeal Jockey Mr. Jaime Torres is hereby suspended 14 NYRA racing days, April 20th, 21st ,22nd , 23rd , 27th, 28th ,29th ,30th 2023 through May 4th, 5th, 6th , 7th , 11th 12th 2023 inclusive. This for careless riding during the running of the second race at Aqueduct Racetrack on April 8th 2023.

Kentucky

Track: Keeneland
Date: 04/08/2023
Licensee: Aveory Faircloth, owner-trainer
Penalty: Sixty-day suspension, 30-days stayed due to good prior record
Violation: Possession of contraband
Explainer: After waiving his right to a formal hearing before the Board of Stewards Aveory Faircloth is hereby suspended 60 days for possession of contraband (needles, syringes and injectable medications) “by a person other than a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine” and discovered on the association grounds of Three Diamonds Training Center, a location under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Due to mitigating circumstances (lack of violations in relation to length of license history), 30 days are to be served from April 11, 2023, through May 10, 2023 (inclusive). The remaining 30 days are stayed on the condition that no similar violation or Class A or Class B medication violation occurs in any racing jurisdiction within 365 days from the date of this ruling. During his suspension Mr. Faircloth is denied the privileges of all facilities under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Entry of all horses owned or trained by Aveory Faircloth is denied pending transfer to persons acceptable to the stewards.

Track: Keeneland
Date: 04/12/2023
Licensee: Barbara Riley, owner-trainer
Penalty: $500 fine, horse disqualified, purse forfeited
Violation: Medication violation (for horse that ran at Turfway Park)
Explainer: Upon receipt of notification from The University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, the official testing laboratory for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, sample number R008025 taken from Future Victory, who finished second in the first race at Turfway Park on April 1, 2023 contained methocarbamol at a level of 7.98 ng/ml in blood (Class C drug). After waiving her right to a formal hearing before the Board of Stewards, Barbara J. Riley is hereby fined $500. Future Victory is disqualified and all purse money forfeited. Pari-mutuel wagering is not affected by this ruling. Upon receipt of this ruling, the licensee is required within thirty (30) days to pay any and all fines imposed to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Failure to do so will subject the licensee to a summary suspension of license pursuant to 810 KAR 3:020 Section 15 (cc).

NEW HISA STEWARDS RULINGS

The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal, except for the voided claim rulings which were sent to the TDN directly. Some of these rulings are from prior weeks as they were not reported contemporaneously.

One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Violations of Crop Rule

Gulfstream Park
Madeline Jane Rowland – violation date April 7; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 8 strikes
Miguel Angel Vasquez – violation date April 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Edwin Gonzalez – violation date April 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Keeneland
Tyler Gaffalione – violation date April 8; $1697.25 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Jose Luis Ortiz – violation date April 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Grace Louise Mcentee – violation date April 12; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Junior Rafael Alvarado – violation date April 12; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Oaklawn Park
Ramon Vazquez-Negron – violation date April 2; $250 fine, “striking his mount three times in a row without a pause”
Keith James Asmussen – violation date April 7; $250 fine, “raising wrist above helmet when using crop”

Tampa Bay Downs
Jose Luis Alonso – violation date April 8; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 9 strikes

Turf Paradise
Luis Valenzuela – violation date April 4; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Will Rogers Downs
Lindsey Kate Hebert – violation date April 12; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
Chad A Lindsay – violation date April 12; $500 fine and three-day suspension, “struck mount after obtaining maximum placing,” on appeal and stay requested

The post Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Apr. 11-17 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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