Rider's one-year ban begins

Quarter Horse jockey Carlos Bautista began serving a one-year suspension last month for possession of an electrical device in the minutes before a stakes race at Fairplex Park last September.

A temporary restraining order that prevented the California Horse Racing Board from enacting the penalty was lifted last month in Orange County superior court, allowing the suspension to begin on July 24.

The suspension was originally scheduled to begin last October, but Bautista fought the ruling in court.

Bautista, who regularly rides at Los Alamitos, was suspended for possessing an electrical device in the warm-up period for the Pomona Quarter Horse Championship at Fairplex Park on Sept. 24, 2006. Bautista rode Royal Medallion to a third-place finish. He was not alleged to have used the electrical device during the race.