Report: W.Va. rider is suspended 10 years for electrical device

Marshall Mendez, currently second in the jockey standings at Charles Town, has been suspended for 10 years after stewards ruled that he had an illegal electrical device on Oct. 11, West Virginia Breeders' Classic night.

Mendez was summarily suspended on Oct. 14 pending a stewards' meeting, though no reason was given on that summary ruling. The 10-year suspension, issued at a stewards' meeting Thursday, was reported by Ray Paulick of Paulick Report. Under West Virginia law he has 20 days to appeal the suspension.

On the Oct. 11 card at Charles Town, Mendez rode in the second through tenth races. He won the West Virginia Dash for Cash Breeders' Classic with Time to Rock, the third race on the card. He also won the seventh, the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association Onion Juice Breeders' Classic, with No Change. He allegedly handed off an electrical device before the ninth race that day.

Mendez has been riding races since 2021. He has amassed 469 wins in 2,978 starts, including over $10.6 million in earnings. He has won 94 times this year, with 71 of those victories coming at Charles Town and the others coming at Mountaineer, Colonial, Laurel and Timonium.

Althought West Virginia is not subject to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority jurisdiction because of pending litigation, the 10-year ban is in line with HISA standards. HISA rule 2274 prescribes a 10-year suspension for the first time a jockey violates the electrical device rule an a lifetime ban for a second offense.