Whip penalty reduced for Van Dyke

Jockey Drayden Van Dyke will be suspended for two days on July 4 and 5 and fined $5,200 after dropping his appeal of more severe penalties issued last November for a whip violation in a winning ride aboard Soul of an Angel in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar.

The day after the win, Van Dyke was suspended three days and fined $15,600. He appealed the infraction but recently dropped the appeal, according to a ruling issued by Los Alamitos stewards last weekend.

In the ruling, the stewards wrote that the national Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority had amended the penalties to lesser sanctions.

Van Dyke was cited for using his whip seven times on Soul of an Angel, one time over the permitted level.

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