By Bill Finley
After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, jockey Luan Machado was suspended for three days and fined $2,500 for his ride aboard Ultimate Strike (Mineshaft) in Wednesday's eighth race at Keeneland.
Keeneland uses two finish lines, one for mile-and-sixteenth races and the other for mile-and-an-eighth races. Ultimate Strike was five lengths in front as he hit the first finish line and was clearly on his way to victory. But Machado apparently believed the race was over at that point and began to pull up his horse prior to the actual finish line for the race. Machado's gaffe allowed longshot Gotta Have Dreams (Creative Cause) to just get past him at the wire for the win.
He will be suspended three racing days, Oct. 27, Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.
Machado is the regular rider of marathon specialist Next (Not This Time), who will likely make his next start in the Breeders' Cup. With 62 wins, Machado was the leading rider at the recently concluded Turfway Park meet, 25 wins ahead of runner-up Gerardo Corrales.
(7) Gotta Have Dreams wins the final race of the day for @James_D_Graham. (9) Ultimate Strike is second, (10) Rocket Night takes third. pic.twitter.com/uYVXbIXTqP
— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 16, 2024
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