By T. D. Thornton
Jockey Jose A. Leon has been fined $100 for hitting a horse in the face during training hours at Mountaineer Park.
According to a Mountaineer stewards' ruling, “Mr. Leon was caught striking a horse across the face on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, during morning exercising.”
The ruling didn't specify whether Leon struck the horse with his whip or his hand.
Joe Moore, the executive director of the West Virginia Racing Commission, wrote in an email that he did not have any details about the incident beyond what the Mountaineer stewards stated in the ruling.
Leon, 24, represented himself at a Sept. 18 stewards' hearing, according to the ruling. Moore told TDN Leon has not appealed, but is still within his 20-day window to do so.
Leon, who has been a licensed jockey since 2018, has compiled a 38-for-304 record so far this year, riding in West Virginia, Ohio, Arizona, and in the mid-Atlantic region.
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