Following their win at the infamous Kentucky Derby last weekend, Junior Alvarado, who jockeyed Sovereignty to victory, is set to face fines of up to $30,000. The fine comes a part of an investigation into him using his whip on the winning horse more than 6 times, which breaches racing regulations.
The fine follows an exhilarating conclusion to America’s most prestigious horse racing event of the year, where Sovereignty pipped the favourite, Journalism, to the post to take the crown. The race course was very muddy and posed some issues for some riders who performed poorly on the soft ground. Despite the rain from the outset, all the best crypto horse racing betting sites had Journalism down as a 3.42-1 favorite. These sites allow gamblers to place bets in a cryptocurrency of their choice, providing them with such benefits as fast payouts and anonymity.
Whilst Journalism performed well and looked to have a final burst of pace going round the last bend, with its eyes set on winning the race at Churchill Downs, the last few furlongs surge from Sovereignty and Bezia pushed Journalism into second and almost got relegated to 3rd place.
A plethora of celebrities were in attendance, including Simone Biles, Aaron Rodgers, and Machine Gun Kelly, who witnessed the impressive race as part of the 151st running of the race in Louisville, Kentucky. The celebrities joined a huge 150,000 attendees that saw Sovereignty win $3.1 million out of the $5 million prize pot for getting that first-place position. However, part of these winnings will need to be paid back to the racing officials as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rulebook clearly states that a rider can only whip their horse fewer than six times and only in increments of two strikes before letting the horse respond for two strides.
Following a review of the race, it was found by BloodHorse that Alvarado had whipped Sovereignty seven times and was in clear violation of HISA’s stringent rules. These rules have become increasingly under scrutiny from animal rights organisations and those looking for transparency and safety in the horse racing industry.
The rules clearly state that if a jockey strikes over one to three times over the limit, the jockey will have to pay a fine of 10% of their purse. Due to the Kentucky Derby being such a prestigious race, the prize pot is large for jockeys and horses alike. As Sovereignty won around $3.1 million of the prize pot, Alvarado receives around $310,000 and therefore has to pay up 10% of this in fines. Had he violated the rules further and whipped more than four to nine times over the limit, the jockey would be liable to receive fines of up to 20% of their prizepot. In addition to the fine, Alvarado will receive 3 points on his license and a one-day suspension for riding.
Alvarado pleaded his innocence to BloodHorse following the race when questioned about his actions. He mentioned that he just couldn’t keep track of the number of times he had used the whip due to the magnitude of the race and the fact that he had so much on his mind. He thought he was remaining within regulations, but miscounted.
Whilst for many this is no excuse, it can be easy to sympathise with him regarding this due to how massive the Kentucky Derby is in America. After all, there is a reason it gets dubbed as ‘the most exciting two minutes in sports’ and draws in around 15-16 million TV viewers every year.
Alvarado went on further to explain his misdemeanour by advising that when the extra whip happened in real time, he was right next to the favorite, and he was fully zoned in and focused on what he needed to do at the time with Sovereignty. With his eyes solely set on wanting to win the biggest race in America, the jockey advised that he had no time to think about being over the whip limit. Admittedly, Alvarado has said he has seen clearly on the replay video footage that he was over and is quite accepting of the fine by the regulations and guidelines set by the horse racing authorities.
