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Jockey Ramon Vazquez has already served a 30-day suspension over a three-horse spill at Lone Star Park in May, but he’s still fighting the ruling in a Texas administrative appeal.
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Vazquez is challenging the Texas Racing Commission’s decision to increase his original seven-day suspension to 30 days. In court documents, Vazquez writes that he accepted the shorter penalty because he believed it would end the case, but then lost his chance to explain what happened when the commission later imposed a harsher ruling.
An administrative law judge has allowed the case to continue, even though Vazquez served the full suspension in June. Judge Michelle Kallas wrote on July 21 that the longer penalty could affect Vazquez’s livelihood because it is recorded in a registry used by licensing commissions in other states.
The appeal has also put new testimony on the record about the Lone Star turf course setup where the spill occurred.
Bint Al Dandy, ridden by Vazquez, had the lead in the May 24 fourth race, a maiden special weight at about one mile on turf, when she shifted out in mid- to late-stretch. One rival clipped heels, touching off a chain reaction that took down three horses and riders. Jockeys Isaiah Wiseman and Ernesto Valdez-Jimenez were seriously injured (Valdez-Jimenez resumed riding Aug. 21; Wiseman has not yet returned to the saddle).
Lone Star stewards disqualified Bint Al Dandy and suspended Vazquez for seven days. He accepted the penalty and waived his right to a formal hearing and appeal of the original ruling.
Then, on June 5, Texas Racing Commission executive director David Holmes increased the suspension to 30 days. Holmes cited the severity of the riding violation and the risk and harm created by the spill, writing that Vazquez had “inexplicably” moved his mount to the right without checking whether doing so would place other riders at risk.
Holmes’ modified order allowed Vazquez to appeal the increased penalty, but not the original stewards’ ruling. The 30-day suspension took effect immediately. Vazquez had already served five days of the original suspension before Holmes issued the modified order, and his first formal hearing on the modified ruling was not held until July 28.
That timing is part of Vazquez’s argument. He says the commission increased his penalty and added a much more serious account of his ride without first giving him a chance to challenge it. The commission later asked the State Office of Administrative Hearings to dismiss the case because Vazquez had completed the 30 days. Kallas declined.
“Safety for our jockeys is always paramount,” said Mindy Coleman, vice president and counsel of the Jockeys’ Guild. “We recognize that the spill involved three of our members, Ernesto, Isaiah, and Mario, two of whom suffered serious injuries, and we wish them the best in their recoveries. With that said, we believe each and every jockey and licensee shall be afforded due process, including the opportunity to have representation, present all the facts, and present witnesses, especially in matters involving a potential suspension or revocation of their license.
“In this matter, unfortunately, we do not believe those rights were afforded to Ramon.”
At a July 28 hearing, jockey Erik Asmussen testified that the spill occurred near a temporary rail on the Lone Star turf course. The rail was supported by three green cones beside a large opening leading to another starting chute.
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Asmussen, who rode in the race, said horses sometimes react in that area.
“There’s those three cones, and then there’s a huge open space, so they kind of tend to get lost, and then they’ll look at those green cones,” Asmussen said. “So it does happen from time to time.”
Asmussen said Bint Al Dandy took “a tiny step to the right” and that Vazquez tried to correct her as quickly as possible. Asked whether Vazquez did anything reckless, Asmussen answered, “Absolutely not.”
Vazquez testified that Bint Al Dandy, a maiden 3-year-old filly making her first start at Lone Star, reacted when she approached the green cones. In a June 5 letter entered as an exhibit, Vazquez wrote that the bases supporting the temporary rail had recently been painted green and said horses had previously spooked, shied, or veered at the extension.
The appeal turns on the form Vazquez signed the day after the spill. The form gave Vazquez three options. In the first, he could accept the listed penalty (seven-day suspension) and waive a formal hearing and an appeal. A second option allowed him to request an informal hearing to discuss a possible settlement. The third allowed him to contest the alleged violation at a formal hearing.
Vazquez signed the first option on May 25. It stated: “I would like to accept the penalty indicated below. I waive my right to a formal hearing and waive my right to appeal.”
The notice also said the executive director could modify a penalty and had authority to impose a suspension of up to five years or a fine of up to $100,000.
At the July hearing, the commission called chief steward Darlene Knight, who was not a member of the Lone Star stewards panel that handled Vazquez’s case. Asked how Texas handles careless-riding cases, Knight said jockeys come to the stewards’ office, review video, and are issued a penalty.
“There’s no hearing. There’s no agreement,” she said.
Under cross-examination, Knight acknowledged that the form offered Vazquez a formal hearing, where he would have been entitled to a lawyer, to present a defense, call witnesses, and question witnesses called against him. She also agreed that Texas rules allow stewards to resolve disciplinary matters by agreement.
Knight maintained that Vazquez’s case was not a settlement because he chose the option to accept the listed seven-day penalty, rather than asking for an informal settlement conference.
Vazquez argues he signed because he believed the seven days would end the case. The commission’s position is that, because the form warned him the executive director could modify a penalty, Holmes could later increase the suspension to 30 days.
Kallas must decide whether Vazquez accepted a seven-day penalty that remained open to review, as the commission argues, or gave up his hearing and appeal rights in return for a final resolution. She must also decide whether Holmes’ authority to increase a penalty allowed him to base that increase on a more serious description of Vazquez’s ride than appeared in the original stewards’ ruling.
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Written closings were filed Aug. 10. Kallas has not yet issued a decision.
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This story was originally published August 26, 2026 at 2:19 PM.