Rider barred from Philly Park

Orlando Bocachica, the third-leading rider at Philadelphia Park, has been banned from the track grounds after a Pennsylvania judge rejected his appeal of a ruling issued against him last summer by the state's horse racing commission.

Bocachica's racing license was seized and he was ejected from the Bensalem, Pa., track on June 26, 2003, after he admitted in a signed statement to using a battery on numerous occasions during training hours. He had continued riding while his appeal was pending.

Bocachica last rode at Philadelphia Park on March 2, a day after a senior judge for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court filed an opinion upholding the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission's July 23, 2003, ruling backing the track's decision to bar the jockey from racing. Other tracks have recognized the ban.