Chapa appeals five-year ban

Jockey Roman Chapa has appealed the five-year suspension from the Texas Racing Commission for allegedly using an electrical device on a horse, according to an official of the commission.

The appeal was filed on Wednesday afternoon by Chapa’s attorney, according to Robert Elrod, the public information officer of the TRC. Elrod said the commission’s legal counsel is reviewing the appeal.

Chapa has been suspended since Jan. 19, two days after he rode Quiet Acceleration to a victory in the Richard King Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park. A picture of him aboard the horse, taken from the inside rail, appears to show a device in his left hand.

Chapa, 43, was given a formal hearing in front of the racing commission last Friday. On Monday, the commission announced it had suspended the rider for five years and fined him $25,000, the maximum penalties the commission could levy.

The suspension was the third for Chapa for using an object on a horse. In 2007, he was also suspended for five years after using an electrical device on a horse at a track in New Mexico.

Shortly after Chapa was suspended, Texas prosecutors charged Chapa with one count of unlawful influence on racing, a felony. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge later this month.