Suspended Paco López has 6 rides next week in Louisiana

Paco López, who is serving a controversial, six-month federal suspension, has been named for six rides late next week at Delta Downs in Louisiana.

The news of López’s first mounts in more than a month, all confirmed in Equibase entries, was reported first by Daily Racing Form and Paulick Report.

Click here for Delta Downs entries and results.

López, 40, a native of Mexico, can get around the ban, because Louisiana does not have to follow Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority rules. Louisiana, West Virginia and Texas have won court orders that allow them avoid HISA regulations at least until their years-old cases finally come to an end.

Three of López’s assignments came from trainer Brett Brinkman and one each from Keith Bourgeois, Jeff Delhomme and Kirk Ziadie. The races in which López will compete are on the claiming and allowance levels. His most noteworthy ride will be on Delhomme’s three-time stakes winner Mangum in Thursday’s seventh race.

López also is booked Thursday to ride Midnight Blaze in the fifth and Scallywag in the sixth races. Next Friday he will be on Rhum Saint Esprit in the fifth and Konawa in the eighth races. López has the mount on Age of Reason in next Saturday’s second race.

HISA banned López on Sept. 23 after it said he violated an agreement to follow the rules after he had been suspended in December for using his crop to strike National Law in the neck after a maiden-breaking victory at Parx. HISA did not spell out the specific reason it decided to activate the longer ban, but it came after he was cited an eighth time for excessive use of his crop. Drew Mollica, who is López’s lawyer, said garden-variety crop violations never were understood to be part of any no-tolerance stance by HISA.

The Jockey’s Guild and its senior leaders including John Velázquez and Mike Smith have come out in public support of López.