Del Mar fines jockeys for violating crop rules in Breeders' Cup

Del Mar racing stewards fined three jockeys for violating the track's crop rules in Breeders' Cup races.

E.T. Baird was fined $5,000 for use of the riding crop more than six times during a race on Friday. He was aboard One Timer, who finished ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Tom Eaves was fined $1,000 for using his crop from above the shoulder level in Saturday's fifth race. He rode Glass Slippers to an eighth-place finish in the Turf Sprint.

And Florent Geroux was fined $5,000 for using a crop more than six times during the Juvenile Fillies, where he rode Juju's Map to a second-place finish.

This was the first Breeders' Cup with the strict California crop rules. The regulation adopted by the California Horse Racing Board limits jockeys to no more than six total strikes during a race with only two allowed in succession before allowing a horse time to respond. California also requires the crop to be used only in the “underhanded” position.

For a ride on Thursday, Ricardo Santana Jr. was fined $500 for using the crop more than twice in succession after riding Adens Dream to win by a head in an allowance race at Del Mar. The race broke his 92-race losing street.