Winning the Kentucky Derby could mean a career change for Sonny Leon, but not right away.
Rich Strike’s jockey is serving a suspension this week, his fifth since September.
Two days after riding an 80-1 shot to victory in America’s most prestigious horse race, the 32-year-old Venezuelan began a four-day suspension for careless driving, preventing him from competing until Friday.
Jockey agent Jeff Perrin said Leon had been given opportunities to drive in Gulfstream this week, but will instead drive seven races Friday at Belterra Park in Cincinnati before picking up “a little extra business” over the weekend at Churchill Downs.
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“We’re still trying to get back to Earth,” Perrin said. “I’ve reached out to some of the trainers at the back that I spoke to over the Derby weekend. What we’re not going to do is forget the people who helped us get to the Derby.”
Leon won 71 of his 399 starts this year, but the Derby was the first graded win of his career.
“Without a doubt it put him on the map,” Perrin said. “It’s hard to fathom. Our dream was to get in and get into the Derby.”
Leon was already the No. 1 rider for Rich Strike’s trainer, Eric Reed, and had ridden all of Reed’s Belterra entries this month before his suspension. Reed replaced him on Tuesday with veteran jockey John McKee at Belterra and won one of the races he entered. The total purse for the $18,600 grant race was equal to 1% of the winner’s share of the Derby purse.
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Why was Rich Strike’s jockey suspended?
Under regulations issued by the Association of Racing Commissioners International, this latest penalty is Leon’s third negligent driving suspension in the past nine months. He has also been sanctioned for providing false and altered physical examination documents to West Virginia stewards and for inflicting visible injuries on one of his mounts through whip abuse.
The five suspensions are a total of 32 days that Leon has been or will be sidelined since September 15.
“You have to be aggressive to win,” said Perrin. “I think there are judgments that people make, and I don’t want to get into it too much for political reasons. But you have to be aggressive.”
Leon’s latest suspension was imposed by stewards at Thistledown, Ohio, following an April 27 incident in which Leon’s filly, One Glamorous Gal, interfered with Ultra Rays in a race with a $28,000 fee, after the rider “deliberately and aggressively sent to the rails to block oncoming horses from the inside.”
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Jockey Alexander Chavez, aboard Ultra Rays, pushed Leon with his right hand during a bumpy ride in mid-stretch. But while Leon appealed, both jockeys were suspended and their mounts disqualified. Ultra Rays had crossed the finish line in second; A Glamorous Gal third.
Leon’s suspension was originally set at eight days, but was reduced to four because he did not appeal. The specific dates were set so as not to disrupt his existing driving obligations. Like most racing jurisdictions, Ohio rules do not prohibit participation in “designated races” such as the Kentucky Derby when a driving violation results in a suspension of 10 days or less.
Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, [email protected]; Twitter: @TimSullivan714
This article originally appeared in Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby: Rich Strike jockey Sonny Leon suspended
