Jockey Luis Antonio Gonzalez was handed a 15-day suspension in a ruling issued on Monday by Mahoning Valley stewards in Ohio for a “failure to give best effort” while riding the favorite in the eighth race at the track on Dec. 26.
Gonzalez had a two-length lead on 7-5 Rapida entering the stretch of the six-furlong allowance but his mount, Rapida, was beaten by a head at the wire by the second choice in the $33,700 race.
The ruling says that Gonzalez “failed to use his utmost exertion to obtain a winning performance, possibly costing him a better placing which may have affected [the] mutuel payout.”
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The $2 exacta paid $17.60, while the 50-cent trifecta paid $23.65. The third choice finished third.
The ruling states that the suspension will be reduced to seven days if Gonzalez does not appeal.
Gonzalez has ridden regularly since 1990, and has topped the 1,000-mount threshold six times in his career, with 3,632 wins from 24,794 mounts, according to Equibase. He has total purse earnings of $42.6 million for his career.
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