Ramon Alvarez

An assistant starter at Zia Park has been ruled off by the track's stewards for six months for slapping a filly in the head four times while the animal was locked in the gate prior to a race going off. Ramon Alvarez has not appealed the ban, which went into effect Nov. 2 and runs through May 1, 2021, according to Izzy Trejo, the executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission. The abuse took place Oct. 20 during a mixed-meet card of Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses at Zia. Alvarez...