HISA suspends Paco Lopez for crop incident at Parx

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority provisionally suspended jockey Paco Lopez from all racing activities under its jurisdiction after he struck a horse in the neck with a crop during the gallop out for the fifth race on Tuesday at Parx Racing.

In a statement posted on X, HISA said the suspension is effective immediately and that it would "proceed under an expedited timeline through HISA's adjudication process."

Lopez’s agent, Cory Moran, could not be reached for comment. Lopez had four mounts Wednesday at Parx and eight both Saturday and Sunday at Gulfstream.

Video posted on X shows Lopez striking National Law after the 2-year-old colt won a maiden special weight at Parx despite drifting out to the outer rail.

Video of the incident is not available on race replays. This video was posted by Andrew Capone, who is a contributing content provider to Horse Racing Nation.

According to Paulick Report, trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. posted on X, "Jockeys are the toughest athletes. We have mental health involved already anyone who saw the whole stretch run would say Paco was outstanding keeping the horse safe. We need to focus on things that matter."

That post apparently has been removed.

Stephen Santulli of owner Colts Neck Stables posted on X, "We do not agree with the action he took, nor Jorge Duarte’s opinions on how the situation was handled. It is truly one of the most unwarranted actions I have seen lately. Colts Neck Stables has not and will not ever condone this type of treatment towards horses."

Parx issued the following statement regarding the incident:

"We are aware of the incident that took place after the fifth race on December 3 and want to express that we aspire to hold the jockey colony and all of the horsemen and women here at Parx to the highest standards. Unsportsmanlike behavior should not and will not be tolerated. We will deal with this accordingly. We are cooperating fully with our stewards and with HISA and will support any disciplinary decision they make in the matter."

Before the suspension was announced, Thoroughbred owner Mike Repole said he and trainer Todd Pletcher asked to have Paco Lopez removed from a mount at Gulfstream Park on Sunday after a video showed the jockey striking a horse in the neck with a crop after a race was completed.

“We also made it clear that if the stewards do not approve the change, we would scratch Battle Drum from the race,” Repole said in an X post.

Lopez had been scheduled to ride Battle Drume for Repole and Pletcher at Gulfstream Park on Sunday.

In an earlier post, Repole said Lopez’s actions “were completely, totally unacceptable, inexcusable and reprehensible.”