The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission has summarily suspended a jockey and two trainers after investigators conducted a sweeping surveillance operation at Parx Racing near Philadelphia on Sept. 23 and found illegal electrical devices and loaded syringes, according to rulings posted by the commission and the racing organization that led the effort. According to the Organization of Racing Investigators, an investigative team was put in place at Parx last week in the lead-up to the track’s biggest racing day on Sept. 24, when the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion and several other graded stakes were held. Investigative teams were also sent to Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., and Penn National Race Course in Grantville, the ORI said in a release. According to records of the racing commission posted late Monday, jockey Edwin Repollet-Rivera received a summary suspension after investigators posted at the entrance to the Parx barn area searched the rider and found two “electrical devices,” according to a ruling from the commission. Rivera will be barred from racing and training facilities pending the results of a hearing, the commission said. The term “electrical device” typically refers to a jerry-rigged handheld machine that is designed to deliver a mild electrical shock to a horse. It is illegal in all racing jurisdictions for a rider to possess or use an electrical device. Rivera has 44 wins this year, mostly while racing at Parx, according to Equibase records. He last rode at Parx on Sept. 21. Trainer Miguel Penaloza was summarily suspended after a search of his tack room uncovered two loaded syringes and a needle, the racing commission said. Trainers are prohibited from possessing hypodermic needles and any “injectable substances” on racetrack grounds. Penaloza has 18 wins from 142 starts this year, for a win rate of 13 percent, with purse earnings of just over $500,000, according to Equibase. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Similarly, trainer Cesareo Marquez was summarily suspended after a search at the barn entrance uncovered “multiple loaded needles and syringes,” according to the racing commission. Marquez has three wins from 73 starts this year while racing at tracks across the Eastern seaboard. The Pennsylvania racing community has a notoriously poor reputation in the U.S. despite multiple investigations in the state over the past decade and aggressive efforts by the racing commission to crack down on violators. A decade ago, a federal investigation of trainers and veterinarians at Penn National led to a trainer being sentenced to 27 months in prison and the convictions or guilty pleas by nine other racing participants, including veterinarians, clockers, and other trainers. That investigation led to the opening of another federal probe that resulted in the indictment in 2020 of 27 individuals connected to Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing, including the top trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Navarro entered a guilty plea and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. Servis has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial early next year.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.