Racing! Lots of rulings from the stewards

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we get more details on the kinds of things stewards look at on a daily basis.

This is the day we do our weekly look at the steward’s rulings. However, we’re going to start with a ruling that hasn’t been made.

Hall of fame jockey Kent Desormeaux came under criticism for the end of his ride on Take a Leap on Saturday. Some said he wasn’t fully riding his mount at the end of the race and cost the horse a second placing by a nose. Earlier in the race, Desormeaux used the whip four straight times—one more than allowable—and the stewards fined him.

The stewards totally punted on the decision and turned it over to the California Horse Racing Board for further investigation.

Desormeaux was called in for an informal hearing on the matter on Sunday.

“I explained to them at length that I absolutely had a strong hand ride [until] two jumps past the wire,” Desormeaux told Jeremy Balan on the Bloodhorse. “They accepted my explanation and said they turned it over to the CHRB for further investigation.” You can read Jeremy’s story here.

The guess here is they didn’t fully accept the explanation or they wouldn’t have turned it over for more investigation. Either way, you can watch the race here. The horse in question is the #1.

Stewards’ rulings.

On to the rulings. And we’re playing catch up, so there are a lot. (Additional details to the rulings are from the stewards’ minutes. A lot of good details are available when the minutes are made public in a timely manner.)

--Jockey Kent Desormeaux fined $100 for using the riding crop four times on Aug. 11 on Synthesis. The horse finished third. It was his first offense in last 60 days. (Until last Saturday.)

--Exercise rider Horacio I. Muro was fined $200 for excessive use of the riding crop during morning training. Lead outrider Cindy Ellet reported the violation. Muro “respectfully” told the stewards that he thought the penalty was severe as his horse was being uncooperative.

--Jockey agent Erick (Nelson) Arroyo was fined $200 for failure to conduct his business in a proper manner. Arroyo represents apprentice jockey Heriberto Figueroa. Owner Mary C. Rowan complained to the stewards that Arroyo backed out of a commitment for Figueroa to ride Spirit of Shanghai on Aug. 12. Instead, Figueroa rode Mycella in the race. Mycella won the race. Spirit of Shanghai, ridden by Edwin Maldonado, finished ninth of nine horses.

--Trainer Michael McCarthy was fined $300 for disorderly conduct and abusive behavior on Aug. 13. According to a citation, McCarthy ran the Z Gate after being told by Del Mar security to stop and turn around. McCarthy was said to use foul language when talking to security and again when told that the matter was going to be referred to the stewards. McCarthy was “contrite and apologetic” when informed of the penalty.

--Exercise rider Jose Orozco was suspended after failing to appear for a hearing with the stewards on Aug. 16. On July 8 at Santa Anita, there was an anonymous tip that Orozco was drinking beer while exercising horses. Sgt. Michael Valadez said surveillance cameras, at 7:48 a.m., backed that up and that Orozco admitted to getting on more horses after he had the beer. There was no time put on the suspension.

--Veterinarian Marc McCaughan was fined $500 for inadvertently administering a second dose of Phenylbutazone (Bute) to Oh Jerry on July 1 at Los Alamitos. He administered the drug 30 minutes after another veterinarian had done the same thing. McCaughan, upon learning of the error, immediately notified an official in the receiving barn, who notified the stewards. The horse was medically scratched.

--Trainer Ari Herbertson was fined $200 when his horse Miss Pretty reported to the receiving barn 19 minutes late. Herbertson pleaded guilty before the hearing. Miss Pretty finished eighth in the nine-horse field.

--Trainer Jeff Mullins was fined $200 when Itsinthepost showed up at the receiving barn improperly shod for a turf race on Aug. 18 for the Del Mar Handicap. The problem was corrected in the barn. Itsinthepost finished seventh as the favorite.

--Jockey Flavien Prat, as reported earlier, had an additional day added to his three-day suspension because he rode in three “designed” races on Aug. 18. He served the extra day on Saturday.

--Apprentice jockey Heriberto Figueroa was suspended three days (Aug. 26, 29, 30) for failure to maintain a straight course in the stretch while riding Satrapa on Aug. 18. In the final furlong Figueroa used his whip 15 times, both left and right handed. In the final 25 yards, after another hit from the crop, Satrapa drifted in and impeded Jefferson Davis, ridden by Kent Desormeaux. Satrapa finished second with no change in the order of finish.

There are more rulings, but we’ll wait until we can see the stewards’ minutes.

John Asher, RIP

The racing world mourned the loss on Monday of John Asher, the vice president of racing communications at Churchill Downs. He was the track’s spokesman and can be remembered as the voice of the Kentucky Derby draw. Asher was in Orlando when he complained that he wasn’t feeling well. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital but was pronounced dead. The cause is believed to be a heart attack. He was 62.

Jockey and trainer standings

Here are the current standings from Del Mar.

First, the jockeys.

Name--------------Starts----Win--Place--Show--Win%----ITM%------Earnings

Drayden Van Dyke 125------33------14------17------26%------51%------$2,113,822

Flavien Prat-------- 108------29------20------6------27%------51%------$1,872,380

Tyler Baze---------- 148------23------18------17------16%------39%------$1,331,220

Heriberto Figueroa 94------19------11------7------20%------39%------$527,750

Assael Espinoza--- 157------17------16------16------11%------31%------$690,003

Geovanni Franco---124------14------14------19------11%------38%------$717,747

Tiago Josue Pereira 105------13------12------15------12%------38%------$656,997

Mario Gutierrez-----100------11------18------12------11%------41%------$907,189

Joseph Talamo------ 102------11------7------10------11%------27%------$688,701

Rafael Bejarano------104------10------12------14----10%------35%------$721,883

And now, the trainers.

Name--------------Starts----Win----Place----Show----Win%----ITM%------Earnings

Peter Miller-------- 92-------28-------14-------11-------30%-------58%-------$1,253,586

Doug F. O'Neill--- 120-------16-------21-------14-------13%-------43%-------$1,080,455

John W. Sadler---- 57-------15-------5-------8-------26%-------49%-------$1,677,124

Jerry Hollendorfer 78-------14-------16-------8-------18%-------49%-------$976,756

Richard Baltas----- 83-------13-------9-------9-------16%-------37%-------$711,493

Philip D'Amato---- 91-------12-------11-------10-------13%-------36%-------$1,052,731

Jeff Mullins-------- 52-------11-------6-------5-------21%-------42%-------$500,370

Bob Baffert--------- 34-------10-------8-------4-------29%-------65%-------$635,230

Brian J. Koriner--- 37-------8-------3-------3-------22%-------38%-------$415,585

William E. Morey- 32-------7-------4-------4-------22%-------47%-------$383,395

And, finally, the folks who pay the bills.

Name--------------Starts----Win----Place----Show--Win%----ITM%------Earnings

Hronis Racing LLC 41-------11-------3-------5-------27%-------46%-------$1,256,009

Rockingham Ranch 21-------9-------4-------2-------43%-------71%-------$325,580

Red Baron's Barn/Rancho Temescal 31-------6-------5-------5-------19%-------52%-------$385,655

Gary Barber--------- 15-------5-------2-------2-------33%-------60%-------$335,355

Reddam Racing LLC 43-------4-------11-------6-------9%-------49%-------$585,020

Kaleem Shah, Inc.--- 12-------4-------1-------1-------33%-------50%-------$243,680

Jay Em Ess Stable--- 13-------4-------1-------1-------31%-------46%-------$219,210

Ruis Racing LLC----- 11-------4-------1-------1-------36%-------55%-------$150,660

OXO Equine LLC----- 4-------3-------0-------0-------75%-------75%-------$192,345

Brinkerhoff, Kelly and Grayson, Jr., Bob 4-------3-------0-------0-------75%-------75%-------$120,420

Del Mar preview

Last Wednesday card of the meeting and it’s the usual eight races starting at 2 p.m. Four, yes, half, of the races are for 2-year-old fillies, including the feature. The seventh race is the $100,000 Generous Portion Stakes, for Cal-breds going six furlongs. It’s a field of six after one scratch.

The favorite, barely, is Creative Instinct, at 8-5. She won her only race, a maiden special, by 3 ¾ lengths. She’s trained by Peter Miller and ridden by Tyler Baze. Second favorite, at 2-1, is Dichotomy, who has won one of her three races. That win came by 2 ¾ lengths. She was eighth in her last start, the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes. She’s trained by Doug O’Neill and ridden by Mario Gutierrez.

Now, the very best 2-year-old fillies will be running on Saturday in the Del Mar Debutante.

The field sizes for Wednesday, in order, are: 7, 7, 10 (3 also eligible), 11, 10 (4 AE), 11 (3 AE), 6, 10 (3 AE).

Bob Ike’s DMR pick of the day

FOURTH RACE: No. 10 Roaring Fork (8-1)

Sophomore gelding from the Sean McCarthy barn was in too tough when finishing far back last time but should fit much better in this restricted claimer. Despite an outside post, ‘Fork might be able to establish early position and should be very competitive at this level based on his maiden claiming win one race back.

Sunday’s result: Lemoona never threatened at any point, finishing far back in the Torrey Pines Stakes.

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here's a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

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Now, the star of the show, Wednesday’s entries.