Santana Fined $500 for Riding Crop Violation at Del Mar

Breaking an 0-for-92 losing streak came at a price for jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. He was fined $500 by the Del Mar board of stewards for hitting his mount, Adens Dream , more than the permissible two times in succession Nov. 4 while narrowly winning the second race by a head.

Santana, who was 0-for-81 at the Keeneland meet, had not won a race since he took the Oct. 3 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park with NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) favorite Echo Zulu . Prior to entries earlier this week, he was replaced on that Breeders' Cup runner with Joel Rosario.

#5 Adens Dream wins the 2nd at Del Mar, ridden by @rsantana_jr, trained by @jawongracing, owned by @jtaboada12! Congrats to the connections!

Race 3 is next from Del Mar & starts the Rainbow 6! Tune in to TVG now for live, on-site coverage & get involved https://t.co/nBYFHj6ufh! pic.twitter.com/vqNa4Qcj51

— TVG (@TVG) November 4, 2021

Santana is one of numerous out-of-town jockeys riding this week in California, which has more restrictive riding-crop rules than many other jurisdictions. 

Steward Grant Baker said earlier this week that stewards and Darrell Haire, West Coast regional manager for The Jockeys' Guild, planned to meet with Breeders' Cup-participating jockeys Nov. 5 before the start of the two-day event, reinforcing the rules in California. 

Two Japanese riders were already informed of California's regulations on Thursday, Baker said. California riding-crop rules further do not allow a jockey to strike a horse more than six times or deliver overhand strikes. 

With authorization from the California Horse Racing Board, stewards can levy larger fines and suspensions for infractions as a deterrent for violations in lucrative races, such as Breeders' Cup events. A winning jockey earns more than $300,000 for a ride in the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).