Two jockeys have been suspended five days each and fined $500 by Monmouth Park stewards for violating the strict whip rules put in place this year by the New Jersey Racing Commission. The pair of cases are the first to come up at the Monmouth meet, which began in late May. Carlos Montalvo was suspended from Aug. 24 through Aug. 28 after stewards held a July 16 hearing regarding his case. Carlos Lopez waived his right to a hearing and was suspended July 24 through 28. :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Riders can’t whip their horses during training or racing at Monmouth this year as a result of a racing commission rule passed during 2020 forbidding the use of the crop except in dangerous situations. The New Jersey whip rule is the strictest in North America, but the 2021 Monmouth meet, after a pre-season furor, had progressed largely quietly until mid-July. Hot Rod Charlie was disqualified from first to last in the July 17 Haskell Stakes for interfering in midstretch with Midnight Bourbon, who stumbled badly and unseated his rider. Hot Rod Charlie’s jockey, Flavien Prat, said he might have prevented the accident if he’d been able to correct his mount with his crop. Lopez was cited for using his whip on Venezuelan Talent, the second-place finisher in the seventh race on July 11. Lopez, who has ridden only two races this season at Monmouth, clearly went to the whip inside the final half-furlong when his mount, leading at the time, was about to be passed. Montalvo’s case wasn’t as clear-cut. A well-traveled journeyman, Montalvo was riding MI Six in the first race on July 11 when his mount tried to get out at the half-mile pole. Montalvo used a right-handed stick, apparently to keep MI Six from blowing the turn, going to the crop again while negotiating the bend and coming into the homestretch. Still, Monmouth stewards decided Montalvo had violated the whip rule and issued the assigned penalty. The Monmouth stewards spoke to Prat after the Haskell but a formal hearing into Prat’s actions in the race reportedly won’t take place until next week. The New Jersey Racing Commission doesn’t permit the chief steward at Monmouth to field media inquiries.