Winning juvenile Quarter Horse disqualified due to age rule

The Quarter Horse filly The Lady Is a Vamp was disqualified from a win at Los Alamitos on April 27 because she had not reached the second anniversary of her foaling date, according a ruling published by Los Alamitos stewards on Saturday.

In California, 2-year-olds cannot race until they have reached two years of age. The Lady Is a Vamp is listed as having been foaled on May 3, 2023.

The discrepancy was not caught by trainer Paul Jones or any racing or track officials at Los Alamitos.

“Ultimately, the trainer is responsible,” Jones said on Wednesday. “I guess I do have to take responsibility for it.”

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The Lady Is a Vamp beat three rivals by a convincing three lengths as the 3-10 favorite in a 300-yard race. She was timed in 15.44 seconds, the fastest of the year by a juvenile at the distance through Sunday.

In the ruling, the stewards ordered that owner Parsons Ranch, Jones, and jockey Henry Lopez forfeit the winner’s share of $4,455 of the $7,590 purse.

Jones said on Wednesday that he plans to start The Lady Is a Vamp in time trials for the Ed Burke Million Futurity at Los Alamitos on May 25. The final of the 350-yard race, which has an estimated purse of $1 million, is June 15.

Jones said the May 3 foaling date for The Lady Is a Vamp may have been incorrectly logged by Parsons Ranch. He said the farm sent him photos in April 2023 of the filly.

“They think they put the wrong date down,” he said.

“The main thing, she gets to start in the Ed Burke trials. I think she’s a really good one.”

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