Arroyo handed another suspension following Graduation Stakes DQ

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. received a 10-day suspension from the Del Mar stewards on Saturday for causing interference in Friday’s $100,351 Graduation Stakes that led to the disqualification of his mount from first to third, his third suspension in a little more than two weeks.

Arroyo has amassed 21 days of suspension since this meeting began on July 17 for causing interference in three races. He was given a four-day suspension on July 19 for causing interference in the second race on July 18. On July 27, Arroyo was given a seven-day suspension for causing interference in a race on July 25.

Arroyo received court stays for both of those infractions, allowing him to continue riding until an appeal is heard.

The latest suspension is scheduled to run for 10 racing days, from Aug. 11 to 24, but Arroyo plans to ask a court for a stay of the penalty which will allow him to continue riding until an appeal is heard, according to his agent, Mike Ciani.

The recent penalties increased in duration because they occurred within a 60-day period.

In the ruling issued on Saturday, the stewards wrote that Arroyo is not eligible to ride in designated races, such as graded stakes, during the term of the 10-day suspension.

Friday, Arroyo rode Square Deal, who drifted to the inside after making the lead in the final furlong, causing jockey Abel Cedillo to check Pas de Panique, who faded to finish third. Square Deal finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of Big Returns, who was 1 1/2 lengths clear of Pas de Panique.

After an eight-minute deliberation, the stewards disqualified Square Deal.

In a 25-minute hearing with stewards Grant Baker, John Herbuveaux, and Kim Sawyer on Saturday, Arroyo unsuccessfully argued that he had space when Square Deal moved to the inside.

“I thought I was clear,” he said.

The disqualification was part of a difficult two-day period for Arroyo, 43.

Thursday, Arroyo did not ride after he was removed from his mounts by the stewards hours after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in a urine test. A second test conducted Thursday morning did not show the presence of a prohibited substance, according to Arroyo’s attorney, Bing Bush Jr. Nonetheless, the stewards did not allow Arroyo to ride Thursday.

Friday, Bush received a court order from a San Diego Superior Court judge allowing Arroyo to resume riding until the drug tests can be analyzed by a California Horse Racing Board-sanctioned lab.

According to documents Bush provided to the court, Arroyo had similar incidents in April and May when three preliminary drug tests showed the presence of prohibited substances, which were later “conclusively proven to be inaccurate” by the racing board’s official lab.

Aside from the incidents of causing interference, Arroyo has had a tumultuous relationship with the stewards in recent weeks. At a hearing in July, he appeared before the stewards wearing a towel around his waist and one on his shoulders, having spent the preceding minutes in the jockey’s room. Arroyo was ordered back to the jockey’s room to put on clothes before the hearing was conducted.

“I want to apologize,” Arroyo said on Saturday in reference to that incident. “It wasn’t a big deal for me and I see that it was.”

Before the 10-day penalty was announced, Arroyo expressed regret for the riding infractions.

“I will be more careful,” Arroyo said. “I want a fresh start with you guys.”

Later on Saturday, Arroyo won his biggest race of the summer, aboard Amalfi Sunrise in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar.