Junior Alvarado, The jockey which set up sovereignty to victory at Kentucky Derby 2025was sentenced to a fine of $ 62,000 Friday after the Horse Integrity and Safety Authority judged that he had whipped his horse too many times.
The Hisa found that Alvarado had struck sovereignty eight times during the two-minute race at Churchill Downs, two above the limit of six strikes. The organization also suspended it for two days of racing in Kentucky on May 29 and 30. You can see the documents here.
Advertisement
By Blood globeThe penalty to make 1 to 3 strikes above the limit is generally $ 250, or 10% of the part of the jockey scholarship. The Alvarado Cup on the derby handbag was $ 310,000, but its fines of $ 31,000 was then doubled because it was its second fine in 180 days.
The fine was expected, as Alvarado said Bloodhorse. He didn't seem too full of remorse:
“I was not galloping 10 (lengths). When the additional whip occurred, I was right next to the favorite and I needed to do what I had to do at the time,” said Alvarado. “After (looking at a replay), I saw that I went, but I did not have time to think about it (in the moment). I just wanted to win the biggest race in America.”
The victory of Kentucky Derby was the first of Alvarado in six starts. He and sovereignty started the race deeply in the back, but jumped from the outside in the second half and beat favorite journalism in a finish of two horses.
Limit of six lashes from Kentucky was established in 2020In response to the control wave inspired by the death series on horses on the Santa Anita racing track in 2019. Churchill Downs was known as one of the deadliest tracks in America At the time, with a rate of 2.73 deaths by 1,000 departures in 2018, which was the second higher among 25 tracks with public reports. Since 2016-2018, its mortality rate was 50% higher than the national average.
Advertisement
For reference to the conditions before the whip limit, the winner of Triple Crown American Pharoah has been estimated Have been whipped from 29 to 33 times in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
The Junior Alvarado lost 20% of the greatest salary in his life because he whipped his winning horse in Kentucky Derby twice too much. (Photo of Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
(Michael Reaves via Getty Images)
Despite the victory during the first stage of the triple crown, The sovereignty coach Bill Mott chose not to make him work in the Preakness Stakes next weekendMaking the horse the second derby champion in four years to be bound by the notoriously short execution period of two weeks.
The decision guarantees that there will be no winner of Triple Crown for a seventh consecutive year. In fact, no horse even won two of the races in a single year since Justify took the three in 2018.
