Vazquez must vacate Parx after suspension stay is denied

Trainer Juan Vazquez must vacate his stalls at Parx Racing after he was denied a stay of a 2 1/2-year suspension issued by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission.

Vazquez's attorney, Alan Pincus, confirmed to Daily Racing Form that Vazquez will have to distribute his horses to other trainers.

Vazquez was suspended this month by Pennsylvania stewards until Jan. 26, 2025, for “conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing.”

The disciplinary action followed the death of 5-year-old mare Shining Colors, who succumbed to laminitis on Jan. 9 after being shipped by Vazquez from Belmont Park to Parx. The ruling, dated July 7, said that Vazquez “was grossly negligent, cruel and abusive in the shipping of the horse.”

“The evidence presented by veterinarian witnesses and the necropsy report clearly revealed the horse Shining Colors was suffering from this severe chronic condition and should never have been shipped to Parx Racing by owner/trainer Juan C. Vazquez,” the stewards' statement reads.

The trainer also was fined $5,000.

Vazquez is appealing his suspension, and the commission granted him a hearing with no date set, according to the DRF report.

In April, the New York Racing Association denied Vazquez stalls for the Aqueduct and Belmont spring meets and later denied his request to stable at Saratoga, according to the report. But until Monday, Vazquez has been permitted to race at its three tracks. He has raced six horses at Saratoga, including Surprise Boss, who finished third in the Quick Call (G3) on Sunday.

On Monday, the New York Gaming Commission said that because of reciprocity standards, Vazquez is banned from New York tracks for the duration of his suspension.