Desormeaux to meet with stewards in hopes of resuming riding career

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, who has been suspended since March for failing to appear at a hearing with California stewards, is scheduled to appear before Del Mar stewards on July 29 regarding a complaint issued by California Horse Racing Board investigators regarding alcohol use at an RV park on Del Mar property last November.

Desormeaux was suspended by Santa Anita stewards on March 4 for failing to appear at a hearing the preceding day regarding the racing board’s complaint.

The suspension came weeks after Desormeaux was arrested on charges of domestic abuse and battery in Louisiana.

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On Friday, Desormeaux’s attorney, Roger Licht, said the jockey hopes the stewards will allow him to resume his riding career.

Desormeaux has undergone treatment for sobriety issues in recent months, Licht said.

“He sounds great and very anxious to get back to work,” Licht said.

In late January, Desormeaux was arrested in St. Martin’s Parish in Louisiana and later released on a $25,000 bond. Licht said no “action has been filed against” Desormeaux regarding the case, but said officials in that state have three years to file charges.

In the racing board complaint regarding the incident at the RV park, Desormeaux was cited for getting into an argument with a girlfriend that drew attention of security officials. At the time, Desormeaux admitted to consuming alcohol, a violation of an agreement he signed in December 2020 with the Winners Foundation stating he would refrain from “using any mind altering and mood changing substances” from Dec. 14, 2020 through Dec. 26, 2021.

The agreement stemmed from an incident at Del Mar in the summer of 2020 when Desormeaux was involved in a dispute at the RV park that led to a 15-day suspension for aggressive behavior and disorderly conduct. Desormeaux was reinstated after completing an in-patient rehabilitation program.

The Winners Foundation aids people in California racing with substance abuse issues.

Desormeaux, 52, last rode on Jan. 23.

After the arrest in late January, officials with 1/ST Racing, which owns California tracks Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita, issued a memo stating Desormeaux was “not welcome” to ride at company-owned tracks.

Desormeaux, who has a history of alcohol-related issues that have disrupted his career, has won 6,116 races in North America and more than 100 races overseas, primarily in Japan.