Lopez will serve 20-day suspension during 2027 Saratoga meet
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Jockey Paco Lopez and the New York State Gaming Commission reached a settlement agreement on Monday under which Lopez will serve a 20-day suspension during the 2027 Saratoga meet stemming from his ride aboard I Love Giraffes on opening day of the 2026 meet.
Originally, the NYSGC suspended Lopez for 30 New York Racing Association racing days. The suspension will cover 20 calendar days in 2027. Though there are no official dates for the 2027 Saratoga meet, it is believed the meet will begin July 15 as NYRA plans to revert back to a 40-day schedule over eight weeks next year after racing 46 days over 10 weeks this summer.
In 2022, the NYSGC stipulated that jockeys serve suspensions at the track at which they received the penalty, even if it means delaying it, in this case, by about one year.
Lopez was sanctioned by the three New York stewards for “willful and gross careless riding” for his ride on I Love Giraffes in the Wild Applause Stakes run at Saratoga on July 3. At the top of stretch of the turf stakes, I Love Giraffes clipped heels with a horse directly to his inside, causing I Love Giraffes to stumble and fall, unseating Lopez. Three horses behind Lopez - Smexy (Tyler Gaffalione), Lovely Grey (Dylan Davis), and Paris Carver (Javier Castellano) _ all fell and unseated their riders. Castellano missed approximately three weeks due to a back injury. I Love Giraffes suffered a neck injury.
The initial suspension was handed to Lopez in early July but he filed an appeal. That enabled him to ride Napoleon Solo, on whom he won the Preakness, in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park, where he finished second. Lopez is also the regular rider of champion sprinter Book’em Danno, who Lopez guided to victory in the Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth on July 17.
Lopez currently leads all jockeys in North America in wins, with 217 entering Wednesday, and is the leading rider at three summer meets that are running simultaneously - Colonial Downs, Delaware Park, and Monmouth Park.
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