Jockey Prat suspended for three days

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Flavien Prat has been suspended three days, Friday through Sunday, for causing interference that led to the disqualification of his mount in the first race last Friday.

Prat, who turned 23 on Tuesday, was cited for his ride on Minster’sadventure, who finished first but was disqualified and placed second for causing interference in the stretch of a starter allowance at a mile on turf.

During the suspension, Prat will be eligible to ride the three graded stakes this weekend – Saturday’s Best Pal Stakes and John C. Mabee Stakes and Sunday’s La Jolla Handicap. Graded stakes are exempt from routine suspensions in California.

Jockeys Drayden Van Dyke and Edwin Maldonado have been fined $500 for infractions last weekend.

Van Dyke was cited for excessive use of the whip in the fifth race last Friday aboard Fast Track. Since new rules were enacted by the California Horse Racing Board on July 1, riders are allowed to strike their mounts only three times before pausing to allow the horse a chance to respond. This was Van Dyke’s third infraction.

Maldonado was fined for failing to report his proper riding weight last Thursday. Maldonado told racing officials he would ride at 118 pounds and weighed out before his first mount at 119 pounds, according to stewards.

In California, riders must contact racing officials in person or by phone at least an hour before racing to declare their riding weights. If riders are over that weight, they face a possible sanction because the public must be informed of a higher weight after wagering has commenced, according to steward Scott Chaney.