Leading Jockey Gutierrez Caught With Electrical Prodding Device

Guillermo Gutierrez, one of the leading jockeys at Los Alamitos, was caught with an electrical prodding device after a quarter horse race Sunday night.

Approached by a state investigator after riding Secret Kitty to a third-place finish in a race for $2,500 claiming horses, Gutierrez reportedly said, “Here’s what you’re looking for.” Then he took the device--sometimes called a battery around the track--off his wrist and gave it to the investigator, Bill Westermann.

Secret Kitty was disqualified and penalized to last place by the stewards, costing her owner, Craig Stripsky, and trainer, Chuck Treece, the third-place purse money in the $4,100 race. Toot Dozen won the 350-yard race, Mays New Doc finished second and Flying To First was moved up from fourth to third.

The Los Alamitos stewards took Gutierrez off the rest of his mounts and scheduled a hearing for the jockey on Thursday.

Bob Nieto, chief investigator for the California Horse Racing Board, said Monday that the board is considering filing criminal charges against Gutierrez. Carrying an electrical device in a race can be considered a felony, Nieto said.

Jockeys have been suspended for a year in California after having been caught with batteries. A Bay Meadows jockey was once suspended for more than two years.

“If you’ve ever been touched by one of these things, you can see how much they hurt,” Nieto said. “It’s like being hit with 110 volts.”

Nieto said that Westermann asked for a search of Gutierrez after the Los Alamitos stewards had received an anonymous tip.

The battery incident at Los Alamitos comes at a time when racing is taking its lumps on several fronts. Nine horses have died this season at Del Mar, most the result of breakdowns on the track, and six thoroughbred trainers and a harness trainer are facing charges by the racing board for illegally drugging horses at Hollywood Park, Golden Gate Fields and the Cal-Expo. Richard Sklar was recently released from prison after bribing a jockey to fix races at Los Alamitos in 1995.

Tim Smith, commissioner of the newly formed National Thoroughbred Racing Assn., said Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., that his group--a cross-section of the industry--has formed a committee to concentrate on racing integrity and drug-testing.

Gutierrez, 29, could not be reached for comment about the battery incident at Los Alamitos. He is a third-generation jockey from Tijuana who has been successful, despite an injury-marred career, riding all breeds--quarter horses, thoroughbreds, Arabians and Appaloosas--in California. Through Aug. 9, Gutierrez had ridden 33 winners at Los Alamitos this season, ranking him fifth in the standings. Gutierrez rode his first winner at Caliente in Tijuana in 1985.