A winning jockey uses a crop at Monmouth – unfair advantage?

The most significant test yet of New Jersey's controversial crop rule might have started in Sunday's first race at Monmouth Park — and it could be a test that does not have a clear answer.

The rule prohibits riders from using a crop except for safety reasons. The rule was passed by the New Jersey Racing Commission last fall and took effect in May. The Jockeys' Guild is seeking to have the rule overturned.

On Sunday, after jockey Carlos Montalvo used the crop at least three times on 28-1 long shot M I Six, the lightly raced 4-year-old went on to win by three lengths over Military Drill, with Paco Lopez aboard.

The jockey's agent, Doug Hatten, told Horse Racing Nation that M I Six was "getting out" and that Montalvo "had to use the whip to keep the horse from from getting out, from bolting."

Kathleen O'Connell, the trainer for Military Drill, told HRN that although that might have been true, she believes M I Six gained an unfair advantage when his jockey used the crop.

The chart for the race says that M I Six "dueled two wide for the lead, drifted out entering the turn, had the rider go to a right handed whip three times, then dueled with Military Drill in upper stretch, put a head in front and drew clear in the final sixteenth."

The replay appears to show that Montalvo used the crop five times.

Both Hatten and O'Connell said a stewards' review is set for Friday. Steve Pagano, New Jersey's thoroughbred racing state steward, said he could not comment on the matter.

Hatten said Montalvo has ridden 74 times at Monmouth "without an issue. This was the 75th race. There was another horse early in the meet that got out and by the time the race was over, the horse was in the outside fence and he never used the stick in that race. So we were talking about it, I said, 'why didn't you use the stick that race with the horse getting out?' He said, 'I never felt in danger with that race.'

"But this horse, from the moment it got into the paddock, was acting like an orangutan, he was acting nuts," Hatten said. "The outrider had to bring him in into the paddock. He acted stupid getting saddled. He was the first horse going out to the track. He cleared everybody out of the way because he was acting so stupid. I mean, jumping around, throwing his head, doing all sorts of stuff."

Hatten said he told Pagano that if a decision had been made to discipline Montalvo, he wanted to appeal. He said Pagano then told him that the review would be on Friday.

"There's a few jockeys that were in the race that saw what happened there," Hatten said. "They're going to come to Carlos' defense. They saw the horse was getting out. So it's a safety issue."

For O'Connell, the immediate concern is whether the outcome of the race was affected.

"With no horse on the outside of the horse, apparently they said that the horse was getting out. Well, he struck him five times – I watched the replay. The result shows three. No, it was five, might even have been six, because they went by the bushes and I really couldn't get a clear view of that. It's very worrisome, let me put it that way. And Paco said if he could have encouraged my horse – which is very lightly raced too, only ran a few times – that the outcome might have been different."

But she said the incident brings to light problems with the crop rule.

"I'm just hoping it gets resolved or something good happens from it because I think it puts everybody in a bad position," O'Connell said. "It puts myself in a bad position, explaining to my owner how we were second and the other horse won. I think it's a disadvantage to the stewards, who are not seated on the horse but are supposed to be listening to the other rider, whose place – I mean, it didn't look like the horse was pointing to the middle of the track. I rode horses my whole life too, that's a judgment call on the person on the horse. So now they're trying to transfer the judgment call to people watching the race. I think it's a very difficult thing to manage and be fair to everybody."

O'Connell said she does not know what a good outcome would be.

"If you take the horse down, you're disciplining the owner who has an investment, who is trying to win. If you don't do something, though – to me, it goes overboard, because somebody is going to always be riding the line, where I think they open themselves up for debate as they'll be riding the line."

She envisions a scenario where connections could say, " 'Well, if you think you can win, we'll pay the fine.' I mean, there's no good situation that can come of this."