J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission said he was notified that Sanchez has been suspended 60 days by Pennsylvania stewards on Thursday, Jan. 20, for wagering on horse races.

Pressed for specifics, Hopkins said, “You can't bet against yourself.”

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission has yet to confirm the suspension and no recent rulings against Sanchez are posted on the commission's website.

Hopkins said the Maryland Racing Commission has already begun its own investigation of Sanchez, who has been riding at Parx, Laurel Park, Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park in recent months. His biggest win came at Aqueduct aboard Hopeful Treasure in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap  on Nov. 28.

Hopkins said Maryland could issue its own suspension of the jockey when the investigation is concluded.

A native of Venezuela where his father, brother and an uncle were jockeys, Sanchez began riding in the U.S. in 2013. He tied for leading jockey at Parx in 2019 and led the standings there in 2020. In 2021 he branched out to ride at Monmouth and elsewhere in the northeast and was a top 10 rider at Monmouth, Laurel Park and Parx Racing meets. Since 2013 he's won 940 races from 6,097 mounts for total earnings of $30.4 million.

Sanchez was named on three mounts Friday at Laurel. Two were scratched and he was removed from the third mount by stewards. He was named on one horse Saturday at Laurel and on multiple mounts Jan. 24-25-26 at Parx.

He last rode at Parx Racing on Jan. 19, winning with three of his six mounts.

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Out of the gate in the six-furlong stakes, the favored Chateau, carrying 131 pounds, grabbed a two-length lead, with Rough Entry, War Tocsin, and Hopeful Treasure stalking the pace down the backstretch. Hopeful Treasure, carrying 128 pounds, moved up to second after a first quarter-mile in :22.51, maintaining his second-place position around the far turn as Chateau continued to lead by two lengths. Fifth early, Green Light Go, carrying 129 pounds, switched from the rail to the outside on the turn, with Chateau going into the stretch still on the lead, Hopeful Treasure and Green Light Go chasing.

Down the stretch at the Ozone Park, N.Y., racetrack, Chateau dug in, trying to hold onto the lead, but Hopeful Treasure's closing bid gave him enough to catch the former frontrunner in the last sixteenth. Green Light Go was able to get by Chateau in the waning strides before the wire, but was too late to catch Hopeful Treasure, who won by a head.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:11.19. Find this race's chart here.

Hopeful Treasure paid $38.00, $11.40, and $6.30. Green Light Go paid $5.90 and $5.40. Chateau paid $3.50.

“The horse is a nice horse. He ran a monster race last out and he was just starting to come into himself. He was feeling great, and this was his owner's [Tony Como] idea. He said, 'Let's give this horse a shot'. Tony has had the confidence in him from Day One. He ran a couple of good races in his past, he just needed some time to mature into himself and grow. He got a great ride from his jockey in his last start and today, he got the same ride. It just worked out,” trainer Michael Catalano Jr. said after the race.

“I know him really well even though it's only been my second time riding him. I've worked him since he was a baby. I told the trainer and owner that he was going to compete and run his best race. They just had him ready,” jockey Mychel Sanchez told the NYRA Press Office after the Fall Highweight. “I broke awesome and got in good position early in the race. I was always confident. I knew I could go by the one horse [Chateau] any time. I was only concerned if anyone else was going to close better than him, but he got it done.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Hopeful Treasure is by Oxbow out of the Giant's Causeway mare Elle Special. He is owned by Just In Time Racing. The 4-year-old ridgling was consigned by Ballysax Bloodstock and purchased by Mike Pino, agent, for $6,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. With his win in the G3 Fall Highweight, Hopeful Treasure has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in 14 starts and career earnings of $282,402.

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Trained by Antonio Arriaga for owner Silvino Ramirez, the son of Candy Ride ran just 11 days ago, where he bested six others in a seven-furlong allowance at Parx by 7 ½ lengths, garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Breaking from post 5 in the seven-horse field, jockey Jose Ortiz hustled Share the Ride through the first few strides out of the gate and secured his mount a path to the outside as Tribecca dictated terms on the front end through an opening quarter-mile in 23.03 seconds over the fast main track.

Around the far turn, Share the Ride inched his way closer to Tribecca under no urging from Ortiz, who looked over both shoulders as they approached the quarter-pole through a half in 46.14.

Ortiz gave Share the Ride his cue just outside the three-sixteenths pole, but a stubborn Tribecca did not retreat and dug in toward the rail as multiple stakes-winner Stan the Man and five-time winner Absentee made late bids in tandem to the outside.

Share the Ride edged clear of Tribecca just inside the eighth-pole to hit the wire a three-quarter length winner in a final time of 1:10.62.

Late closers Stan the Man and Absentee finished a respective second and third. Tribecca, Drafted, Arch Cat and Majestic Dunhill, who was compromised by an unfavorable beak, rounded out the order of finish.

Share the Ride has been a model of consistency through his 5-year-old campaign, winning 4-of-9 starts, including a triumph in the Mr. Prospector on September 12 at Monmouth Park. He also was third to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 Vosburgh on September 26 at Belmont Park and was a game runner-up to Majestic Dunhill in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler on October 31 at Belmont.

Returning $5.20 as the favorite, while carrying 133 pounds as the co-highweight, Share the Ride upped his lifetime earnings to $369,860 and record to 20-8-3-4.

“Everybody had a little extra weight today, but my horse was very game,” Ortiz said. “It was a great training job. This horse was 100 percent ready. He broke well and sat second and relaxed. I asked him to go passing the three-eighths pole to engage Tribecca. I wanted to be close to him at the quarter-pole because he's hard to beat on the lead and he digs in. I was in good range to win the race and they battled down the lane; two good horses in a match race and then the other horses were coming too, at the end, but he dug in.”

Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms, Share the Ride is the second progeny out of the multiple stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed Graeme Hall mare Belle of the Hall.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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A son of Majesticperfection that always seems to pack a late punch, Majestic Dunhill is in career form as his 5-year-old campaign winds down. Majestic Dunhill was at one time strictly a turf horse, having run on grass for the first nine starts of his career before making his foray onto the main track late in 2018. His first dirt start, which came in the ungraded City of Laurel at Laurel Park, resulted in a win, and his connections then decided to focus exclusively on dirt races for his 2019 campaign.

Despite running well on a number of occasions, including a near miss in the 2019 Grade 2 General George at Laurel, Majestic Dunhill failed to pick up a win as a 4-year-old and the drought continued in his initial start of 2020, which prompted Weaver to try him on turf again in the First Defence at Belmont Park, a race he very nearly won.

After a disappointing seventh in an optional claimer on the Belmont lawn, however, it was back to dirt for the dark bay gelding, where he finished up the track in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga Race Course. Following another near miss in an optional claimer on September 25 at Belmont, Majestic Dunhill finally got back to his winning ways with a last-out victory in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap on October 31 at Belmont over a muddy track.

Interestingly, Majestic Dunhill has flashed new and improved early speed in his last two starts, which should be beneficial as he cuts back from seven furlongs to three-quarters for the Fall Highweight. With his rider for those last two starts, Joel Rosario, out of town on Sunday, Jose Lezcano will pick up the mount from post 3. He's been assigned co-highweight of 133 pounds.

To make it two straight, Majestic Dunhill will have to deal with the classy Dubai shipper Drafted, who hasn't run since finishing sixth in the Saudi Cup Sprint on February 29 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack. A son of Field Commission, Drafted was at one time a contender in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, having won a pair of graded events in the UAE in the lead-up to the 2019 Golden Shaheen. After finishing a decent fifth in the race, the Florida-bred gelding was forced to hit the sidelines for a long time before he returned with a third-place finish in the Group 3 Dubawi at the start of 2020, which he followed with a fourth in the Group 3 Al Shindagha, both at Meydan in Dubai.

Previously trained by Doug Watson, Drafted will make his first start for the New York-based David Duggan on Sunday and his third domestic run as he raced twice in the U.S. as a 2-year-old when he was under the care of trainer Eoin Harty and Godolphin LLC.

“When quarantine hit in Dubai my longtime friends decided to redirect him to America,” said Duggan, who trains Drafted for Misty Hollow Farm. “He's been here a couple months now. He spent a month in Maryland and then came to me. He's straightforward. He can be a little funny to gallop but his works have been very good and on his best day he can be competitive here. He could be a little ring rusty, but this race is just a starting point. I wish it were an easier spot but that's the way it goes in New York. He's working well and is fit enough, so I can't complain.”

A six-time winner from 16 lifetime starts, Drafted will be ridden for the first time by Dylan Davis from post 2 while carrying 131 pounds.

Claimed for $16,000 earlier this year by Silvino Ramirez, Share the Ride will look to keep his magical season going and overturn the decision from the Bold Ruler two starts ago, in which he finished a neck behind Majestic Dunhill. Since being claimed in his first start of 2020 on July 5 at Monmouth Park, the 5-year-old Candy Ride gelding has been in raging form, possibly due to the addition of blinkers, which occurred on September 5 in the Grade 3 Red Bank on turf and have been equipped ever since.

It took him awhile to find the winner's circle for his new connections, but he did so in style on September 12 at Monmouth, taking the Mr. Prospector by a widening 3 ¾ lengths before finishing third in the Grade 1 Vosburgh and second in the Bold Ruler.

Jose Ortiz will take the call from post 5 aboard Share the Ride, who makes a quick turnaround for the Fall Highweight having recently dominated an allowance event at Parx Racing on November 18. He was assigned co-highweight of 133 pounds.

Another reformed claimer, Tribecca will attempt to win his fourth race of the year on Sunday. A New York-bred son of Bustin Stones, Tribecca was haltered for $25,000 last summer by trainer Chris Englehart and owner Ronald Brown and has won six of nine starts for his new connections, including an emphatic victory last out in the Hudson on October 24 at Belmont.

Kendrick Carmouche will retain the mount aboard Tribecca from post 7 at 130 pounds.

Trainer John Terranova will send out the salty older dirt runner Stan the Man, who turns back in distance following a distant third-place finish in the Grade 2 Kelso in his most recent outing. The 6-year-old Broken Vow gelding has won at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 ⅛ miles on the main track and has been a force at the Big A, where he's notched five of his seven lifetime victories. Although he struggled earlier in the year, he seems to have benefited from his connections removing blinkers two starts ago, which resulted in a win in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga.

Eric Cancel, who was aboard Stan the Man in the Kelso, will take the call again from post 6 at 132 pounds.

Burns Thoroughbred Racing's Arch Cat, trained by Daniel Velazquez, finished third last out in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler. A 13-time winner from 38 career starts, Jorge Vargas, Jr. will have the call from the inside post aboard the 6-year-old Arch gelding at 130 pounds.

Absentee, a five-time winner exiting an off-the-turf score at Belmont on October 29, completes the field for trainer Jorge Duarte, Jr. and Colts Neck Stables. Junior Alvarado has the call from post 4 under 128.

The Fall Highweight is slated as Race 8 on Sunday's 10-race card. First post is 11:50 a.m. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the Aqueduct fall meet with coverage to air on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

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The 5-year-old Majesticperfection gelding was game to the wire to win the seven-furlong Bold Ruler by a head over Share the Ride on a muddy Belmont main track. Weaver said he will take a close look at how both the Fall Highweight and Cigar Mile fields shape up before deciding.

“We'll see how both races come up. I'm sure the Cigar Mile will have some heavyweights in there,” said Weaver. “Majestic Dunhill is a gelding, so we're not looking to establish stud value with him. We're trying to make as much money as possible and spot him as best we can. The way the two fields stack up will factor heavily in our decision. He's a fun horse to have.”

Majestic Dunhill, who earned a career-best 100 Beyer winning the Bold Ruler, boasts a record of 21-5-4-4 with purse earnings of $373,214.

Weaver said he may also have a contender for the Cigar Mile undercard with Brereton C. Jones' Dollar Mountain in the Grade 2, $150,000 Demoiselle at nine furlongs on the main track.

The dark bay daughter of Upstart garnered a 64 Beyer Speed Figure when graduating by 5 1/2-lengths at second asking on Oct. 16 in an off-the-turf 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight contested on a sloppy and sealed Belmont strip.

“Dollar Mountain broke her maiden nicely and she could be in consideration for the Demoiselle,” said Weaver.

Jim and Susan Hill's Lead Guitar, a 4-year-old daughter of Maclean's Music bred in New York by Windylea Farm, will look to run her win streak to four in the $100,000 Autumn Days, an open six-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up slated for Nov. 29 at the Big A.

The talented bay launched her career in June 2019 under Weaver's care, including a third-out graduation on the Saratoga turf under Luis Saez.

After making the first four starts of her 4-year-old campaign for trainer Eddie Kenneally, including a restricted Aug. 20 optional-claiming sprint score on the Saratoga turf, Lead Guitar returned to Weaver's care and captured an open optional-claiming turf sprint on the front end on Sept. 20 at Belmont ahead of a rallying score in the open Floral Park on Oct. 17 over six furlongs of soft turf at Belmont.

Weaver said the filly, who sports a record of 10-5-2-1 with purse earnings of $235,678, likes to win races.

“She's a New York-bred and she has a lot of talent and that helps her knock out some wins,” said Weaver. “She's consistent in open company races too and she's developed into a really nice turf sprinter.”

R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables' Vekoma was retired from racing and will stand stud at Spendthrift Farm in 2021. The Candy Ride chestnut spiked a temperature in the build-up to what was to be his final career start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

“He was training great. We had some feet trouble with him over the summer and we got him going right and he ended up developing a fever when it was time to go over there and run,” said Weaver. “It was disappointing, but we're so proud of the horse and he's going on to his second career. We're all really happy for him.”

A six-time winner from eight starts with more than $1.2 million in purse earnings, Vekoma graduated on debut in September 2018 at Belmont Park and followed with a score in the 2018 Grade 3 Nashua at the Big A.

The popular chestnut added the 2019 Grade 2 Blue Grass to his ledger at Keeneland ahead of finishing 12th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Vekoma was perfect in three starts this season, including Grade 1 wins at Belmont in the Runhappy Carter Handicap in June and the Runhappy Met Mile in July.

“He provided us with many memories. The Blue Grass win was special but to come back and win the Carter and Met Mile, those are big races, too,” said Weaver.

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