paco lopez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Awesome Anywhere, who dominated in a starter allowance race at Oaklawn Park two starts ago, heads a field of eight older horses for the first running of the $75,000 Oceanport Centennial Stakes, the feature race on Monmouth Park's opening day card on Friday, July 3.

First race post time on Fridays will be at 5 p.m. with the exception of Sept. 4 (Kentucky Oaks Day), when post time will be 12:50 p.m.

Post times on Saturday and Sunday during the 37-day meet will be 12:50 p.m. except for a noon start Haskell Day on Saturday, July 18.

Parking and admission are free all year except for Haskell Day.

Monmouth Park will open its gates to fans at 11 a.m. daily starting Thursday, July 2, when simulcasting wagering and the William Hill Sports Book will be available for the first time since the track was shut down on March 16 under state-imposed restrictions to fight the COVID-19 virus.

Starting Thursday, fans can enter the track through the Grandstand or Clubhouse entrances only. Upon entry, fans will receive a temperature check and will be asked to fill out a brief health questionnaire.

Masks are required to enter the facility.

No outside food or beverages will be permitted.

The Oceanport Centennial Stakes, at five furlongs, headlines a six-race Friday card that has drawn 57 entries.

Paco Lopez, seeking a seventh Monmouth Park riding title, has the mount aboard Awesome Anywhere, who is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. A 6-year-old gelding, Awesome Anywhere has won seven of 18 career starts.

The post Oceanport Centennial Stakes Headlines Six-Race Opening Day Card At Monmouth This Friday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Paco Lopez has been suspended 60 racing days for what Gulfstream Park steward Stephen DiMauro called “continuous careless riding” in Sunday's 11th race at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track aboard Itsmyluckycharm for trainer Edward J. Plesa Jr. Itsmyluckycharm finished first by 1 1/2 lengths as the even-money favorite in the 7 1/2-furlong turf contest but was disqualified and placed 10th for interference.

The suspension comes just over two months after Lopez received a 30-day ban for his role in a Jan. 31 spill that injured two riders, Romero Maragh and Carlos Montalvo. Maragh underwent spinal surgery as a result of the Jan. 31 incident and Montalvo suffered an ankle fracture. Both jockeys remain sidelined.

In the April 14 disqualification, the Equibase chart footnotes state that Itsmyluckycharm “lacked racing room along far turn, continued without clear path, then forced way out and bumped Let's Go Baby out of way entering stretch.” Let's Go Baby finished ninth.

“The 60 days was based on continuous careless riding after each time he was either called in, reprimanded or given a suspension,” said DiMauro. “Suspensions increased and his careless riding continued. So we increased it to our maximum penalty.”

DiMauro said Lopez has 72 hours to appeal the suspension, after which the effective dates will be assigned. The 60 racing days equates to roughly a 12-week suspension, based on Florida's five-day weekly racing schedule. The length of the suspension would be the same in other states as it is based on Gulfstream Park's schedule.

Lopez is the leading rider at the current Gulfstream Park meet, winning 13 races from 48 mounts, including four winners on Thursday after receiving news of his suspension.

The post Paco Lopez Suspended 60 Racing Days For ‘Continuous Careless Riding’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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