SOME 18 jockeys banded together to demand answers from stewards after an apprentice rider was banned following a race he won.
The incredible scenes happened at Belmont Park in New York earlier this week after Jaime Torres was suspended for two weeks.
Jockeys wanted to know Torres had been given such a long ban after his win was overturned by stewards
Torres, riding Wonder Girl, was first past the post but allowed his mount to carry out runner-up Nightsaber, ridden by Irad Ortiz.
Stewards decided Nightsaber would have won but for the interference and reversed the placings, while banning Torres for a fortnight.
Normally a jockey can expect to be out for between three and seven days for a rules infraction of this sort.
But when it came out that Torres was given two weeks, 18 jockeys banded together to demand a meeting with the stewards.
Legendary Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez, who’s won just shy of £370million during his career, led the charge.
He said: “Everybody feels it wasn’t an incident to receive 14 days, that’s why we want to talk to the stewards.
“Hopefully they reconsider the amount of days they’re giving him.
“We all agree he definitely deserves his days, he definitely needed to be disqualified.
“It’s just the amount of days didn’t fit the violation.”
Stewards have not commented on the length of the ban because Torres has appealed.
Torres was previously suspended for two weeks in April for ‘careless’ riding at Aqueduct.
On that occasion his mount Central Speed created a spill in which two jockeys were unseated and one of them, Jose Lezcano, crushed a bone in his hand.
Angel Cordero Jr, who represents Torres, called the latest 14-day suspension ‘unbelievable’.
He said: “They said he never made an effort to take his horse away from the other guy.”
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