By admin 
Jockey Paco Lopez has been suspended one day and fined $500 for a ride at Saratoga on Sept. 5. He has not appealed the ruling.
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Lopez rode the Mark Hennig-trained Rum Twist in the fifth race, a seven-furlong main-track maiden special weight for juvenile fillies. Rum Twist and Lopez ran three-wide in fourth and fifth, then took the lead in the stretch for a 5 ¾-length victory.
According to the HISA Ruling dated Sept. 11, Lopez violated rule 2280 (c)(1). “Lopez did raise the crop with the Jockey’s wrist above the Jockey’s helmet when using the crop on the horse Rum Twist,” the ruling reads.
Lopez is scheduled to serve the suspension on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The ruling lists “multiple violations” as an aggravating factor. Lopez’s first crop violation of 2026 came July 19 at Monmouth Park, when he was fined $250 and suspended one day, also for raising his wrist above his helmet. Lopez returned to HISA-covered racing this spring after serving a six-month suspension stemming from repeated crop violations in 2025.
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Lopez finished 19th in the jockey standings at the Saratoga meet, with three victories and three runner-up efforts from 13 races. He was the leading rider at the recently concluded Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs meets. Lopez additionally leads the jockey colony at Delaware Park.
Lopez leads all North American jockeys by wins this year with 262 from 1,035 starts.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 10:14 AM.