Jockey is jailed in Louisiana for 5 'horse-shocking devices'

Authorities in Louisiana have arrested jockey Martin Osuna for charges including possession of devices used to illegally shock horses.

Jockey Martin Osuna was detained Thursday upon arriving at Evangeline Downs to ride the night card, according to a news release from the Louisiana State Police. According to the release, he was detained due to an arrest warrant related to falsifying information on a racing document, a a search after his arrest uncovered five horse-shocking devices. The Louisiana State Police did not detail the devices further, nor specify the type of information Osuna is accused of falsifying. This arrest was previously reported by Paulick Report.

Osuna was subsequently booked at St. Landry Parish jail on charges of filing false public documents, falsifying information on a racing document, injuring public records, and five counts of violating a Louisiana statute prohibiting the unnatural stimulation of horses.

This was not Osuna's first trouble with the law. He was suspended in December 2016 by stewards at Turf Paradise in Arizona for carrying an illegal electrical device while riding Captain On Takeoff in the Mike Hastings Memorial Stakes. According to a contemporaneous report by Matt Hegarty of Daily Racing Form, a track photographer informed the general manager of Turf Paradise that Osuna appeared to be holding an unusual object in the finish line photo, sparking the investigation.

Osuna denied any wrongdoing at the hearing but stewards suspended him for the maximum 180 days and recommended that state regulators add another five years to his penalty, according to Paulick Report. He ultimately served 10 months before he was allowed to resume riding.

According to Equibase, Osuna has ridden 1,188 quarter horse races and 100 Thoroughbred races since his career began in 2015, winning 209 of the former and four of the latter.