The battle for Kentucky Derby (G1) glory at Churchill Downs May 3 came down to a classic stretch fight between Sovereignty and Journalism. At the wire, it was Junior Alvarado aboard Sovereignty who emerged victorious.
READ: Sovereignty Outlasts Journalism to Win Kentucky Derby
In the heat of battle, however, Alvarado lost track of how many times he had used the crop to encourage Sovereignty forward, going over the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's six-hit limit.
Implemented in July 2022, HISA's rule states that riders can use the crop on the horse's hindquarters "no more than six times and in increments of no more than two strikes before allowing horse to respond for at least two strides."
In the NBC replay of the Kentucky Derby, it appears that Alvarado, who has been a jockey since 2007, used the crop at least seven times. The final use came when Sovereignty had grabbed a half-length lead at the sixteenth pole before hand-riding to the wire.
Alvarado said he did not realize he had gone over the limit until watching the race replay during the postrace press conference.
"I couldn't keep track of that," Alvarado said. "It's such a big race, there's so much that you've got on your mind."
On his mind was the duel with Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli, the favorite.
"I wasn't galloping by 10 (lengths). When the extra whip happened, I was right next to the favorite and I needed to do what I needed to do at the time," Alvarado said. "After (watching a replay), I saw I went over, but I had no time to think about that (in the moment). I just wanted to win the biggest race in America."
Rispoli appeared to have used the crop on Journalism six times—HISA's limit—with the final coming during the same moment at the sixteenth pole when he'd fallen a half-length behind.
According to HISA rules, going 1-3 strikes over the limit results in a $250 fine or 10% of the jockey's portion of the purse, whichever is greater. The $5 million Kentucky Derby awards the winner $3.1 million with the jockey usually receiving around 10%: $310,000. That would result in a fine of $31,000.
In addition to the fine, the jockey receives a suspension of at least one day and three points on their license.
If determined to have gone 4-9 strikes over the limit, the fine would be $500 or 20% of the jockey's portion of the purse, about $62,000 in this case. The horse would also be disqualified from purse earnings and the jockey given a suspension of at least three days and five points on their license.
"I'm gonna have to take the penalty that I am probably going to be handed," Alvarado said "There's nothing I can do."
