Lazarus Defends Lopez Six-Month Suspension

[Wandering Eyes]

One day after the Jockeys' Guild issued a statement that excoriated the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Authority for suspending Paco Lopez for six months, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus issued a statement defending the Authority's actions.

In a January 17 order signed by both HISA and Lopez's representatives, the parties agreed that “this two-year suspension is probated contingent upon Lopez not committing another violation of HISA Rules that involves conduct similar to the conduct at issue in the Notice within two years of the date of this Order. If Lopez commits another violation of HISA Rules that involves conduct similar to the conduct at issue in the Notice within two years of the date of this Order, an immediate and automatic six-month suspension is imposed upon Lopez prohibiting Lopez from riding in any Covered Horserace.”

Lazarus said that Lopez did exactly that.

“HISA's #1 priority is and always will be the safety of all horses and riders,” said Lazarus. “Suspending Mr. Lopez for six months was not a decision taken lightly but instead a last resort after numerous efforts to encourage him to be compliant with our rules failed. On January 17, 2025, Mr. Lopez was suspended for two years for striking National Law in anger. HISA and Mr. Lopez's representatives agreed that Mr. Lopez could return to racing after 45 days, but he would remain on probation until January of 2027 with the specific proviso that if he engaged in similar behavior within two years of the agreement, he would be automatically suspended for six months. Since the start of 2025, 712 jockeys have raced in HISA jurisdictions making 126,618 total starts. During that time, there have been a total of 25 crop violations at eight different racetracks for raising the wrist above the helmet while striking a horse. Mr. Lopez returned to racing from his last suspension in late January of 2025 and still constitutes eight of those 25 violations, almost one-third of the violations across all HISA jurisdictions nationwide. Other than Mr. Lopez, no other jockey has more than two violations in 2025 for striking a horse with the wrist above the helmet. It is our sincere hope that Mr. Lopez will return to horse racing after his suspension ready to follow the rules and set a good example for his supporters.”

Lopez's attorney, Drew Mollica, still insisted that the multiple crop violations did not violate the agreement between the parties.

“The tenor of the agreement was that he would not comport himself with similar behavior to the National Law incident,” said Mollica. “The National Law incident was about striking a horse in anger post-race. They are conflating issues to try and punish Paco. The tenor of the agreement, the plain language of that agreement, was that he would not breach the agreement, and he did not by committing minor whip violations that were all adjudicated by the stewards. He did not hit any horse in anger.”

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