One day after the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission published its report
regarding Life at Ten’s (Malibu Moon) poor performance in the Breeders’ Cup
Ladies’ Classic (G1), finding probable cause that jockey John Velazquez violated
Kentucky racing rules, the two-time Eclipse Award-winning rider responded to the
charges.
His attorney Maggi Moss, a prominent horse owner herself, on Friday released
the following statement on his behalf:
“I represent John Velazquez, who has cooperated from the outset in the
investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).
“In this particular case, there were no specific rules of racing violated by
Mr. Velazquez, as admitted by the KHRC. They speak about ‘common sense’ and have
charged my client with a catch-all rule of racing that his actions were not ‘in
the best interest of racing.’ I submit they missed the ‘common sense’ of the
knowledge of the riders, the risks the jockeys take every time they climb on the
back of a horse and the duties of all of the participants involved.
“To ‘charge’ a jockey such as John Velazquez with ‘not acting in the best
interests of racing’ is the equivalent of stopping a driver and charging him
with a crime due to the police not liking what he said or how he acted, without
any real violation. More tantamount is how do regulators dictate to jockeys when
to scratch and when to ride a horse? A jockey is not going to intentionally ride
a horse that he or she believes is truly in distress or injured. To do so would
not only jeopardize their own life and the horse’s life, but the lives of all of
the jockeys and horses. The risk is great without any additional factors.
“Just 15 days prior to the Breeder’s Cup races at Churchill Downs, (jockey)
Garrett Gomez told the KHRC vet at the starting gate that there was a problem
with the horse he was riding at Keeneland, Stream of Gold. The state vet didn’t
see anything that merited scratching, and allowed the horse to run with a
different jockey and the horse finished a poor seventh. How does the public, or
authorities, ever reconcile the ever changing scenery?
“Throughout this investigation, the truism best spoken by Mr. Velazquez is as
follows: ‘I’ve ridden thousands of horses: some do not warm up perfect and run
brilliantly. Conversely, some warm up perfectly and run poorly.’
“As indicated by the KHRC and those interviewed, it was never a case of the
unsoundness of this great mare. Any attempt to notify personnel of a horse being
quiet would never have led to a scratch, especially given the caliber of the
race and the interest of the public.
“On behalf of all jockeys in the world, this precedence is at most chilling,
and now sets an unworkable standard for all jockeys. By electing to proceed with
such a charge, the regulators are essentially setting a precedent that jockeys
should scratch every horse that warms up sound but sluggish. Otherwise, they
could potentially be subject to sanctions or other penalties.
“We do not make light or undermine the travesty to racing and the betting
public as a result of the ‘Life at Ten incident’ during the 2010 Breeders’ Cup
Ladies’ Classic. However, charging John Velazquez, an individual with such great
integrity, after months of ‘investigation’ will never improve the image of our
sport and rebuild the public trust. He is, quite simply, a scapegoat. The entire
process, as well as the charges against Mr. Velazquez, will not withstand legal
scrutiny.
“The only thing that is apparent as a result of this investigation is that
the incident with Life at Ten was a debacle and the perfect storm of mistakes,
with the real harm to the betting public and further derogation of our
beleaguered sport. It was, in all likelihood, an aberration that will never
occur again. Worse yet, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission only darkened
racing and sadly ‘indicted’ the wrong person.
“All of us passionate about this sport, and the public, plead for the
national leadership to restore reason, regulation, and trust, and sadly, the
industry has failed again.”