Santa Anita stewards suspend Orozco
.jpg)
ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Irving Orozco, who has not ridden since March 22, has been suspended for failing to appear at a hearing with Santa Anita stewards to explain his absence from riding.
Orozco did not appear at Santa Anita on March 27. The next day, he was removed from his mounts for the programs of March 28-30.
Orozco, 20, was scheduled to meet with stewards on Saturday, according to steward Tom Ward.
“We haven’t heard word one from him,” Ward said.
Ward is a steward along with Scott Chaney and Kim Sawyer. It is not clear what caused Orozco’s absence. He was not available for comment on Sunday, the day the stewards issued their ruling. Under the terms of the ruling, Orozco is banned from the racetrack until he contacts track stewards.
Orozco has won 19 of 192 races, good enough to rank 11th in the jockey standings for the winter-spring meeting that ran from Dec. 26 through Sunday.
Orozco has won 109 races in his career, including 10 on Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos. Orozco was in the top 10 at the winter-spring meeting until March. His five-pound apprentice claim ended in late February.
* Trainer Mike Harrington has been fined $750 after failing to report that Summer Sea was racing as a gelding at Santa Anita on March 28, according to a ruling issued by Santa Anita stewards.
Summer Sea raced as a gelding for the first time on March 28, finishing last of eight as the 5-2 favorite in a maiden claimer. Trainers are required to report that horses are racing as geldings for the first time at time of entry.