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Sovereignty jockey fined for striking horse too many times in Kentucky Derby win
Junior Alvarado, jockey of Kentucky Derby-winning horse Sovereignty, was fined $62,000 by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on Friday for striking his horse with his riding crop too many times during last weekend’s win.
HISA regulations state that jockeys are permitted to strike their horses’ hindquarters a maximum of six times during a race. Alvarado was found to have struck Sovereignty eight times during the race at Churchill Downs.
Alvarado acknowledged his mistake Saturday after the race, telling Blood Horse: “I couldn’t keep track of that. It’s such a big race, there’s so much that you’ve got on your mind.”
“When the extra whip happened, I was right next to the favorite and I needed to do what I needed to do at the time. After (watching a replay), I saw I went over, but I had no time to think about that (in the moment). I just wanted to win the biggest race in America.”
According to HISA rules, if Alvarado struck Sovereignty 10 or more times, stewards would have called their disqualification from the Derby.
The Class 3 violation triggered a 10 percent fine of Alvarado’s winnings, which were $310,000 of the overall $3.1 million purse. According to the ruling statement, it was Alvarado’s second such offense within the past 180 days, thus doubling the fine.
The penalty also comes with a one-day suspension, which was also doubled for Alvarado’s repeat offenses. He will be suspended for two Kentucky racing days, May 29 and 30.
Since riding crop penalties were introduced in 2022, Alvarado has been penalized nine times, HISA records indicate.
On Tuesday, Sovereignty trainer Bill Mott told race organizers the horse will not be running in the Preakness Stakes on May 17. On Friday, Bob Baffert announced his horse Rodriguez will also miss the Preakness.
(Photo: Leandro Lozada / AFP via Getty Images)
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