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Possession Of Electrical Device After Monmouth Race Lands Tomas Mejia 10-Year Ban

The board of stewards at Monmouth Park have suspended jockey Tomas Mejia for 10 years and recommended to the New Jersey Racing Commission permanent revocation of his jockey's license. He also received a $5,000 fine.

Mejia was taken off all upcoming mounts last Friday, Sept. 10, when stewards became aware of a photograph from Monmouth's track's official photographer, posted on the Oceanport, N.J., track's Facebook page, showing a suspicious object with what appeared to have two prongs sticking out in the rider's left hand after winning the seventh race aboard Colts Neck Stables LLC's Strongerthanuknow for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. on Sept. 3. The picture had been posted to commemorate Mejia's return from injury.

An initial stewards hearing with Mejia began on Sept. 11 and was continued on Sept. 15.

The Sept. 15 ruling, which referred to photographic evidence, states, “Upon entering the winner's circle and prior to dismounting from the horse Strongerthanuknown on Sept. 3, 2021, Tomas Mejia was in possession of a prohibited electrical device,”

Possession of a prohibited electrical device on the grounds of Monmouth Park is a violation of New Jersey Racing Commission rules NJAC 13:70-14.5 (a) (d) (e) and NJAC 13:70-1.15.

The suspension runs from Sept. 10, 2021, through and including Sept. 9, 2031. Mejia is denied access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Racing Commission “for any and all purposes.” Suspensions of this nature are enforced in other racing jurisdictions.

The ruling concludes: “In addition to the penalty issued herein, the Board of Stewards refers this matter to the New Jersey Racing Commission and recommends the permanent revocation of Mr. Mejia's New Jersey Racing Commission license.”

Mejia, who turned 26 years old on Thursday, Sept. 16, is a native of Panama who was a leading apprentice in his native country after graduation from the Laffit Pincay Jr. riding academy there. He began riding in the U.S. in 2018 and compiled 110 victories from 1,101 mounts.

The ruling does not address whether Strongerthanuknow may be disqualified from his narrow win in the $57,500 allowance race, conducted over five furlongs on turf.

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Hong Kong Racing Study Guide: Best Riders By ROI

The 2021-2022 Hong Kong Jockey Club season began on September 5 and will continue with racing twice a week until July 16. The rider colony has been dominated by Joao Moreira and Zac Purton as they have shared the last eight titles but the more familiar you are with the other riders, the better you will be. The racing is extremely competitive and the riders are under extreme scrutiny from the racing officials. At the end of each racing day, they issue warnings, reprimands and suspensions when the rules are not being followed. As a bettor, rest assured you are getting a fair shake.

The leading riders win the most races but they also receive the most backing. Blindly betting them rarely works out over time. In Hong Kong, there are just over 20 riders that have licenses to ride. Because the average field size is over 12, many of them are kept busy but don't always get quality mounts. Thus, many have very low win percentages. Still, when they win, they can pay well.

The following are the leading jockeys from the 2020-2021 season based on wins:

Jockey	Wins	Rides	Money Earned
Joao Moreira	157	742	$1,212.90
Zac Purton	125	713	$1,180.20
Karis Teetan	79	741	$1,182.80
Vincent Ho	61	614	$910.50
Jerry Chau	58	481	$1,044.80
Alexis Badel	58	622	$943.40
Derek Leung	39	609	$1,146.30
Matthew Poon	37	537	$965.30
Matthew Chadwick	31	458	$670.90
Antoine Hamelin	27	538	$690.40
Chad Schofield	26	390	$463.90
Blake Shinn	24	374	$784.30
Vagner Borges	22	435	$1,006.00

Takeout on win betting in Hong Kong is 17.5% so an average win payoff of $1.65 exceeds the takeout. The following are the leading jockeys from the 2020-2021 season based on a ROI per $2 win bet:

Jockey	Wins	Rides	Money Earned	$2 Bet/Horse	ROI
Vagner Borges	22	435	$1,006.00	$870.00	$2.31
Jerry Chau	58	481	$1,044.80	$962.00	$2.17
Blake Shinn	24	374	$784.30	$748.00	$2.10
Derek Leung	39	609	$1,146.30	$1,218.00	$1.88
Matthew Poon	37	537	$965.30	$1,074.00	$1.80
Zac Purton	125	713	$1,180.20	$1,426.00	$1.66
Joao Moreira	157	742	$1,212,90	$1,484.00	$1.63
Karis Teetan	79	741	$1,182.80	$1,482.00	$1.60
Alexis Badel	58	622	$943.40	$1,244.00	$1.52
Vincent Ho	61	614	$910.50	$1,228.00	$1.48
Matthew Chadwick	31	458	$670.90	$916.00	$1.46
Antoine Hamelin	27	538	$690.40	$1,076.00	$1.28
Chad Schofield	26	390	$463.90	$780.00	$1.19

Some words of caution:

Vagner Borges benefitted from wins that paid $359.30 (race 563) and $117.50 (race 40).

Blake Shinn benefitted from a win that paid $151.90 (race 349).

Derek Leung benefited from wins that paid $138.20 (race 247) and $121.60 (race 257).

Jerry Chau continues to thrive with his five-pound apprentice allowance and his results are the most predictable.

As far as pari-mutuel payoffs, there is little statistical difference between Zac Purton (ROI = $1.66), Joao Moreira (ROI = $1.63) and Karis Teetan (ROI = $1.60).

The post Hong Kong Racing Study Guide: Best Riders By ROI appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Mejia Taken Off Monmouth Park Mounts, Has Hearing Scheduled After Suspicious Photo Surfaces

Jockey Tomas Mejia was taken off his mounts this past weekend by order of the stewards at Monmouth Park and a hearing will be conducted on Sept. 15, presumably revolving around a suspicious photo that appears to show an object in the rider's left hand following a Sept. 3 comeback win at the Oceanport, N.J., track.

Mejia rode Colts Neck Stable's Strongerthanuknow to victory in the seventh race that day for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr., defeating 9-10 favorite Mumbai by a neck after rallying in deep stretch.

A photo of Mejia aboard the filly taken by the track photographer was posted on Monmouth Park's Facebook page commemorating the fact it was his first mount since being injured in a July 25 spill at Monmouth. The photo was subsequently removed after officials were alerted to what appeared to be an object in Mejia's left hand, but a copy of the photo was also circulating on Twitter.

The New Jersey Racing Commission does not permit its stewards to talk to the media and a spokesperson for the commission did not respond to a query on Sept. 10 about the reason for the Sept. 15 hearing. A track spokesperson also declined to comment. Mejia's agent, Robert Tuccille, did not respond to phone calls or voice messages from Paulick Report.

Mejia, a native of Panama and graduate of that country's Laffit Pincay Jr. jockey academy, won two additional races over the Labor Day weekend, winning with three of 10 total mounts. With 19 wins from 149 mounts at the current meet, he ranks ninth among Monmouth Park jockeys in that category. He's won a total of 110 races in the U.S. since 2018, when he arrived from Panama, where he was the leading apprentice. His most noteworthy victory came last Sept. 13 when he rode 158-1 longshot Andrez Conquist to a victory that established a new Monmouth Park record for a $2 parimutuel win payoff of $319.80.

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Isaac Castillo Not Content With Breakout Year, Sets Sights On More Stakes Wins

After a year of “firsts,” 23-year-old jockey Isaac Castillo knows exactly what's next to keep his career on the rising arc it's now on.

“I need to win more stakes races. That's the next step for me,” he said.

After the breakout year Castillo has had at Monmouth Park, stakes victories are part of the logical progression that has seen the native of Panama improve his win total for all six years he has been riding.

This year has been particularly noteworthy as Castillo heads into a heavy three-day workload at Monmouth Park this weekend.

He is currently second in the Monmouth Park rider standings with 49 wins, trailing only Paco Lopez, the runaway leader seeking his eighth title. Last year he won 21 races at the meet.

Castillo also has 87 overall wins from 541 mounts after winning 36 races from 284 mounts a year ago.

“I'm very happy with the way everything is going,” he said. “It feels good to have this success. I have worked hard and the trainers have supported me. I would say it's even better than I expected this year.”

Castillo's other “firsts” in 2021 include riding in a Grade 1 race – something he did twice on the same day, with a mount in both the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (Basso) and the United Nations (Oceans Map). Neither longshot showed much but Castillo was grateful for the experience.

“It meant a lot just to ride in a Grade 1 race for the first time, and to do it twice in the same day was special for me,” he said.

Castillo said the momentum for his big year started at Tampa Downs over the winter and carried through to the Monmouth Park meet. His work ethic has taken that to another level this summer.

Though he has won two stakes races at the meet – the Rainbow Heir Stakes with Belgrano and the Regret Stakes aboard Bronx Beauty – he knows they have to come with more frequency at this stage of his career. He is convinced they will.

“I am seeing what happens if you keep working hard,” he said. “I'm out there every morning doing what I can do to get better. I want to be good and I know you have to work hard to get there. Good things happen if you work hard.

“The funny thing is I am not tired at all, not mentally or physically, from how much I have ridden this year. It just makes me hungrier. Hopefully more trainers will see the success I am having and I will continue to get better and better horses to ride.”

And finishing second in this case is actually something to feel good about.

“That would be a big accomplishment. There are a lot of good jockeys here,” he said. “Everyone knows how tough Paco Lopez is here. He's hard for anyone to beat. So being second to him would be a big deal for me.”

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