Smith suspended nine days for Saudi Cup infraction

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has been suspended nine racing days – from April 10-26 – after losing an appeal for a riding infraction in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 29.

The suspension covers Friday through Sunday, the days of the week Santa Anita typically operates, for three consecutive weeks.

The ruling was issued late Friday morning by Santa Anita stewards shortly before the track announced it had ceased racing temporarily by order of Los Angeles county officials because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The dates of the ruling are expected to stand regardless of whether the track operates during that time.

Earlier this year, Santa Anita stewards suspended jockey Joel Rosario for three days from Feb. 6-8 for a riding infraction. A day after the ruling was published, Santa Anita officials announced that racing would not be held on Feb. 6 because of concerns about the available number of horses at the time. Rosario was not suspended for an additional day when racing was not held on Feb. 6.

Smith was cited for excessive use of the whip on runner-up Midnight Bisou in the world’s richest race. Smith appealed the ruling to Saudi Arabian racing officials, but the appeal was recently denied, according to a report on Horseracingplanet.com.

In addition to the suspension, Smith was fined $210,000 as part of the penalty by Saudi racing officials.

Earlier this month, Smith served two days of a separate penalty from Feb. 29 for failing to weigh out after a race earlier on the Saudi Cup program.