Tag: Sonny Leon

Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings Sept. 27-Oct. 3

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

California:
Track: Los Alamitos
Date: 10/02/2022
Licensee: Juan Hernandez, jockey
Penalty: One-day suspension, $278 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: Having violated the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Rule #2280 (Use of Riding Crop) and pursuant to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Rule #2282 (Riding Crop Violations and Penalties – Class 3), Jockey Juan Hernandez, who rode COUNTRY GRAMMER in the eighth race at Santa Anita Park on October 1, 2022, is suspended for one (1) day (October 9, 2022), and fined $278.00 (10% of jockey's portion of the purse) for one (1) strike over the limit. Furthermore, Jockey Juan Hernandez is assigned three (3) violation points that will be expunged on April 2, 2023, six (6) months from the date of final adjudication pursuant to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Rule #2282 (Riding Crop Violations and Penalties. Jockey Juan Hernandez has accrued a total of six (6) points.

Florida:
The following was reported on the Association for Racing Commissioners International's recent rulings website.
Track: Gulfstream Park
Date: 10/05/2022
Licensee: Herbert Miller, trainer
Penalty: $1,000 fine
Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: STEWARD'S RULING FINAL ORDER # 2022-037344 – F.S. 550.2415 = METHOCARBAMOL. $1000 FINE IMPOSED AND DUE 10/20/22 TO GULFSTREAM PARK HORSEMENS BOOKKEEPER. LOSS OF PURSE IMPOSED ALSO. “I'LL FIGURE IT OUT”

Track: Gulfstream Park
Date: 10/05/2022
Licensee: Lis Duco, trainer
Penalty: $1,000 fine
Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: STEWARD'S RULING FINAL ORDER # 2022-037253 – F.S. 550.2415 VIOLATION = TRANEXAMIC ACID. $1000 FINE IMPOSED AND DUE 10/20/22 TO GULFSTREAM PARK HORSEMENS BOOKKEEPER. LOSS OF PURSE ALSO IMPOSED. “AMOR LEJANO”

Kentucky:
Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 10/01/2022
Licensee: Keith York, owner-trainer
Penalty: Suspended license
Violation: Disorderly conduct
Explainer: Keith York is hereby suspended for disorderly conduct and his formal rejection from Ellis Park that occurred on September 29, 2022.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 10/02/2022
Licensee: Sonny Leon, jockey
Penalty: 15-day suspension
Violation: Intentional attempt to interfere during racing
Explainer: After being represented at a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Sonny R Leon, who rode Rich Strike in the tenth race at Keeneland on Oct. 1, 2022, is hereby suspended 15 racing days, October 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and October 29, 2022, for intentionally attempting to interfere with and impede the progress of a rival by repeatedly making physical contact with another rider into the stretch.

NEW HISA STEWARDS RULINGS
Note: While HISA has shared these rulings over the past week, some of them originate from prior weeks.

Violations of Crop Rule:
Albuquerque Downs
Luis Ramon Rodriguez–ruling date September 18, 2022
Alejandro Medellin–ruling date October 1, 2022
Miguel Angel Perez–ruling date October 1, 2022

Aqueduct
Manny Franco–ruling date September 29, 2022
Jose Ortiz–ruling date September 29, 2022
Jose Lezcano–ruling date September 30, 2022

Churchill Downs
Jose Riquelme–ruling date September 25, 2022
Edgar Moorales–ruling date September 25, 2022
Joseph Talamo–ruling date September 25, 2022
Joseph Rocco, Jr.–ruling date September 30, 2022
Corey Lanerie–ruling date October 2, 2022

Delaware Park
Carlos Eduardo Lopez–ruling date October 1, 2022
Prairie Meadows
Cassidy Fletcher–ruling date October 2, 2022

Remington Park
Erick Medellin–ruling date September 28, 2022
Presque Isle Downs
Helen Alice Beckman–ruling date September 28, 2022
Eduardo Rojas–ruling date September 30, 2022

Voided Claims
Churchill Downs
Violent Gigi–ruling date September 21, 2022
Beverly's Charge–ruling date September 21, 2022
Mine Own Star–ruling date September 25, 2022
Indimaaj–ruling date September 25, 2022
Supremacy – ruling date September 28, 2022

Horseshoe Indianapolis
Rio Lady–ruling date September 27, 2022

Violations Involving Forfeiture of Purse
Albuquerque Downs
Luis Ramon Rodriquez–$500 fine; 3-day suspension; 5 points; 7-day additional suspension due to accumulation of 11 HISA points

Appeal Request Updates
Albuquerque Downs

Luis Ramon Rodriquez
Crop rule violation
Ruling date September 18, 2022
Appeal filed September 28, 2022
Stay denied

Oscar Ceballos (rider of horse owned by Joseph Peacock, Jr.)
Crop rule violation
Ruling date September 25, 2022
Appeal filed October 3, 2022
Stay granted

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Martin, Trainer of Tyler’s Tribe, Joins Writers’ Room Podcast

The 2-year-old gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) is the fastest horse in Iowa–maybe the fastest horse ever to come out of the Hawkeye State–and has won his five career starters by a combined 59 3/4 lengths. But does that make him good enough to win a Breeders' Cup race? The Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland was his co-owner and trainer Tim Martin, and when the big event rolls around, he'll be going into the race with confidence.

“For me, it's going to be different, that's for sure,” he said. “I've never had a horse who can run at this level. I'm only doing this because of this horse. I never wanted to just go to the Breeders' Cup. I only wanted to go if I had a legitimate shot. This is a really nice horse, and I think we have a shot. He's fast. He just gallops when everyone else is running. I know there will be some really good horses in there, but we don't know what we've got because no one has ever challenged him.”

How good is Tyler's Tribe, who is an Iowa-bred?

“We just don't know,” he said. “Every time the rider [Prairie Meadows' leading jockey Kylee Jordan] rides him, she comes back and tells us she had more horse, that she wasn't even asking him to run. Every time she says he had more left. So I don't know how fast he could go. He runs with them and then when they get to the lane he just takes off.”

Martin said it's likely that Tyler's Tribe will run in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He has never run on the grass, but Martin doesn't believe the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a good fit because his horse has never run beyond six furlongs.

“I'm leaning toward the short race,” he said of the 5 1/2-furlong heat. “If I were going to experiment with him, I would have liked to do it before a big race. I know he's fast. I know he's super fast, so I'm thinking our best chance is the turf race. I think he will like the turf. There is turf in his pedigree. He's got some siblings who have done well on the turf. I know he's fast and that he can run short. Long? I just don't know. It would be hard to stretch him out right now.”

Martin said he and co-owner Tom Lepic have fielded plenty of offers to sell the horse, but have told everyone the answer is no. One of the reasons is a sentimental one. The horse is named after Lepic's grandson, Tyler, whose long battle with leukemia has turned a corner of late.

“I've had some good offers for him,” Martin said. “But I've never had a horse anywhere close to this in my career, and he's named after Tyler. We never wanted to sell him and it doesn't matter what the offers have been. We had a couple offers for $500,000. They could have offered $1 million. We still wouldn't be interested. He's not for sale. We're having fun and I've always said you can't put a price on fun.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, Three Chimneys, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the Writer's Room unveiled its new lineup, which consists of Bill Finley, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman. The trio went over last week's big races and the controversy surrounding Sonny Leon and his ride aboard Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in the GII Lukas Classic S. and his subsequent suspension. The win by Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GI Woodward S. was also part of the discussion, with Moss saying the race may have been better than it looked at first glance. The team also reviewed the GI Awesome Again S., won by Defunded (Dialed In), and Christophe Soumillion's antics in France and looked ahead at this weekend's blockbuster lineup of graded stakes and preps for the Breeders' Cup.

Click here to watch the show or click here for the audio-only version.

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Leon Suspended for Ride on Rich Strike

The Churchill Downs stewards have suspended jockey Sonny Leon 15 days for his controversial ride on second-place finisher Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in Saturday's GII Lukas Classic S.

The head-on view of the race clearly showed Leon leaning into jockey Tyler Gaffalione on winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and he appeared to elbow his rival rider.

In a ruling issued Sunday, the stewards determined that Leon was guilty of “intentionally attempting to interfere with and impede the progress of a rival by repeatedly making physical contact with another rider in the stretch.”

Leon did not respond to a text message from the TDN seeking comment.

At about the time that Rich Strike started to come over and jostle with Hod Rod Charli,e it appeared that Leon's saddle might have slipped, which could have caused him to lose balance. Rich Strike's trainer, Eric Reed, told Horse Racing Nation that Leon told him his saddle did in fact slip.

“Sonny said the saddle loosened to the left,” Reed told the website. “He said, 'I started to lose my balance. The saddle slipped over and made me lean to the left.' If that doesn't happen, we win the race.”

Rich Strike passed Hot Rod Charlie a few jumps before the wire and appeared to have the race won, but Hot Rod Charlie surged again in the final strides to win by a head.

Several pundits took to Twitter to claim that Rich Strike would have won if not for the incident and that Leon cost his mount the race. Retired jockey and TV analyst Richard Migliore tweeted:

Leon's suspension is for 15 racing days and begins Oct. 9 and runs through Oct. 29.

Leon's greatest moment came in the GI Kentucky Derby when the jockey, who was largely unknown outside the Ohio circuit, guided Rich Strike to victory and was widely praised for his ride.

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Rich Strike Is For Real, And Other Thoughts

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley

Reflections on an interesting weekend of racing:

(*) No, Rich Strike did not win the GII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs. A very game Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) had a second surge and came back just before the wire to nip him by a head. But not only was there no shame in losing, this was the best race of Rich Strike's career-better, yes, the GI Kentucky Derby-and finally put to rest that he was a one-race wonder who just got lucky on the first Saturday in May.

There was plenty of reason to doubt this horse after the Derby. He was 80-1, probably should have been even higher, and benefitted from a massive pace meltdown and a perfect trip under the unheralded rider Sonny Leon. It looked like a fluke and even more so when he never threatened in the GI Belmont S. and finished sixth, beaten 13 1/4 lengths.

He came back in the GI Travers S. and certainly didn't embarrass himself, running fourth behind the immensely talented divisional leader Epicenter (Not This Time). But fourth is not first and he lost by 5 ½ lengths.

Trainer Eric Reed then made the decision to skip the GI Pennsylvania Derby and take on older horses in the Lukas Classic. He didn't exactly find an easy spot. With Hod Rod Charlie, Happy Saver (Super Saver) and Art Collector (Bernardini), the race was loaded. Considering the quality of the field and that the race was for 3-year-olds and up, you can make the argument that the race was a tougher assignment than the Derby. And he ran his heart out, losing to an accomplished and tenacious Grade I winning 4-year-old who has bankrolled more than $5.5 million.

“He hooked the toughest horses he has ever ran against and ran on the outside the whole way,” Reed said after the race. “Look how far he has come since May. I can only imagine what it's going to be like next year.”

Good point: this colt is obviously improving and should be an outstanding 4-year-old.

It's also worth noting that he was much closer to the pace than normal in the race Saturday at Churchill. He was never further back than fourth and never more than 2 ½ lengths off the lead. That should serve him well as trying to win races from 15 lengths off the pace is never an easy way to go.

Reed hasn't said yet if Rich Strike will go next in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The other option is the GI Clark S. on Nov. 25. Considering the depth of the Classic and the presence of a certain horse named Flightline (Tapit) and Rich Strike's affinity for the Churchill surface the Clark looks like the better option. Either way, it looks like he will show up and be competitive. He's not Flightline, he may not be Epicenter, but he is what he is–a very good horse and a deserving winner of the Kentucky Derby.

(*) The Lukas Classic was not without controversy. Aboard Rich Strike, Sonny Leon appeared to be leaning into Tyler Gaffalione on Hot Rod Charlie and elbowing him as the two horses neared the wire. Retired jockey and TV analyst Richard Migliore took to Twitter to criticize Leon and claim that his actions cost Rich Strike the race.

“After watching the Lukas classic numerous times @SONNYLEON1 cost Rich Strike the win by pulling him over to Hot Rod Charlie and putting his elbow into @Tyler_Gaff instead of going forward and driving to the wire,” he tweeted. “When does this BS stop? It's horse racing not jockey racing. Enough.”

NYRA linemaker David Aragona also had his say on Twitter.”As much as I'd like to praise how well Rich Strike ran today, this is pretty bad stuff from the jock,” he wrote. “Obviously crossing a line. A suspension is warranted for these kind of shenanigans.

Others on Twitter were kinder, arguing that Leon's saddle slipped and that was what caused him to lean into Gaffalione, which, the head-on replay shows, he clearly did.

(*) Maybe the GI Woodward S. was nothing more than a paid public workout for Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and all he needed to do was get around the racetrack. He did in fact het the job done. But with his reputation and his odds of 1-20 weren't you expecting more than a 1 1/4-length win and a 97 Beyer figure? There was even a moment when it looked like eventual runner-up Law Professor (Constitution) was going to beat and post what would have been a colossal upset.Take nothing away from Life Is Good. He's won three Grade I races this year and if not for Flightline would be the favorite for the Horse of the Year title. But if he is going to be in competitive in the Classic he will need to run much better than he did Saturday.

(*) The GI Awesome Again S. was a chance to enhance Flightline's reputation, if such a thing is possible. The race included, in Country Grammer (Tonalist), Royal Ship (Brz) and Express Train (Union Rags), the horses who were second, third and fourth when Flightline turned in his electrifying performance in the GI Pacific Classic. Had that group come back with strong collective efforts in the Awesome Again it would have made Flightiline's race look even better.

It didn't happen.

The race was won by Defunded (Dialed In), who was coming of a sixth-place finish in the GII Pat O'Brien S. Country Grammer was second but was a disappointment at odds of 11-10. Express Train was fourth and Royal Ship was sixth. Neither ran well.

This doesn't mean that Flightline isn't a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but it's clear that, beyond him, the older male division in California is a weak one.

(*) Horse racing remains the only gambling game where you can cash a winning bet and feel like a chump. It happened again in the Awesome Again. When the field was loading into the gate Defunded was 8-1. The gate opened, he got out front and, lo and behold, he was 5-1 on the next flash. He paid $12.

Once again, the computer players got fat and happy at the expense of the everyday player who wagered on Defunded thinking they had bet on a horse that would pay in the neighborhood of 8-1. The winners were made to feel like losers. And the problem is not going to go away. The CAW players wager far too much money for any track to refuse their bets.

Fixed odds can't come soon enough, but it looks like industry is in no hurry to at least give them a try. Why? In fact, FanDuel is prepared to offer bets on racing on its sports betting platforms, but with pari-mutuel odds. You think the sports bettor would be OK with betting the Mets at -160 only to be told after the first pitch the odds were really -210? Of course not. It's hard to imagine a marriage of sports betting and racing working without fixed odds.

(*) Chad Brown keeps getting better and better with young dirt horses. When he won the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct with Blazing Sevens (Good Magic), it was his second straight win in the race and his fourth overall. Blazing Seven's sire, Good Magic (Curlin), was second in the 2017 Champagne.

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