Lopez suspended 60 racing days
HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. – Gulfstream Park general manager Bill Badgett said track stewards have suspended jockey Paco Lopez for 60 racing days for his ride aboard Itsmyluckycharm, who was disqualified from first for interfering with several other horses entering the stretch in last Sunday’s finale. Lopez had been handed a 30-day suspension for his ride earlier in the meet that resulted in serious injury to apprentice Romero Maragh.
Lopez’s agent, Corey Moran, said on Friday: “At the moment we’re in appeal mode, but we haven’t done anything yet. We have 48 hours to decide on a course of action.”
Moran said Lopez would continue to honor his calls through Sunday.
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Lopez won four races in a row on Thursday’s card just hours after the stewards handed down his suspension. Trainer Dallas Stewart has replaced Lopez with Irad Ortiz Jr. on Grade 1 Ashland winner Out for a Spin in the Kentucky Oaks as a result of the suspension.
11 Easter Sunday races
There will be 11 races on Sunday’s Easter program, with the main event an optional claimer for statebred fillies and mares that goes as the 10th event. The six-furlong dash drew a field of eight led by the Jason Servis-trained Diva’s Revenge, who looks to bounce back after finishing a distant second as the 3-5 favorite against open $40,000 conditioned-claiming competition three weeks earlier.
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