In February 2026, Ramon Vazquez made history at Oaklawn Park, reaching 500 local wins, becoming the eleventh rider in the track’s history to achieve the feat. Three months later, everything has gone wrong for the Puerto Rican jockey. Vazquez left Lone Star Park on May 24, having crossed the wire first and leaving two of his fellow riders hospitalised. He disputed the blame, but the Texas Racing Commission took one look at the wreckage and decided the original punishment wasn’t close to enough.

The stewards initially gave the Puerto Rican jockey a seven-day suspension after the incident. But upon further investigation, the Texas Racing Commission (TRC) has extended that to 30 days. An official statement from TRC executive director David Holmes confirmed the commission’s decision.

“Modification is warranted here because the original seven-day suspension is insufficient to address the severity of the riding violation and the resulting risk and harm,” wrote Holmes as per the Paulick Report.

“Mr. Vazquez inexplicably veered his mount to the right and into other horses without making an attempt to check if the action would place others at risk, causing three horses and their jockeys to fall and causing serious injury to two jockeys. This was not a minor drifting or ordinary race-riding incident. The conduct disregarded normal riding safety and created an extreme danger to horses and riders.”

The incident took place at Lone Star Park in late May. Riding aboard filly Bint Al Dandy, Vazquez had the lead when his horse “lugged out in mid-to-late stretch”. That caused utter chaos on the track leading to one rival (Perdido Star and jockey Isaiah Wiseman) clipping heels, which created a chain reaction. By the end of the chaos, two more horses and their riders crashed out while Bint Al Dandy crossed the line in first.

Officials disqualified the winning jockey-horse pair after the fact, while medics treated the fallen jockeys. Perdido Star and rider Isaiah Wiseman were the first victims, quickly followed by It’s Time for Zima and Lady Q. Wiseman and Ernesto Valdez-Jimenez (It’s Time for Zima) suffered serious injuries, with the latter even needing surgery. Meanwhile, Mario Fuentes (Lady Q) was fit enough to ride the next day, as was Ramon Vasquez.

After the race and a thorough investigation, the stewards’ ruling confirmed that Vazquez had waived off a formal hearing. Thus, they suspended him for seven calendar days, (June 1-7) before Holmes and the TRC decided to take further action. As per Holmes, the jockey’s “careless riding” and “interference” go against the integrity of the sport.

They believed that a simple “penalty” did not fit the gravity of the crime, which included serious injuries. Wiseman will miss three months through recovery, while there’s no time period specified as of yet for Valdez-Jimenez. So, to protect the jockeys and “reflect the gravity of the conduct”, Vazquez’s suspension was increased.

“A thirty-day suspension is proportionate to the seriousness of the violation, the degree of risk created, and the actual harm that resulted,” Holmes further wrote. “The modified penalty remains within the executive director’s statutory authority and is tailored to address the safety-related aggravating circumstances present in this case.”

However, Vazquez has maintained from the beginning that the incident was not the result of reckless riding. The veteran jockey believes his mount reacted unexpectedly in a split-second moment, and after the TRC increased his suspension, he finally broke his silence on the controversy.

Ramon Vazquez opens up after receiving a suspension

There’s no denying Ramon Vazquez’s pedigree. The jockey has thrived over the years ever since he graduated from Puerto Rico Vocational Jockey School in 2002. Since then, he has won multiple graded stakes, including more than a dozen Grade 3 and Grade 2 races. Not just that, Vazquez has also picked up several Grade 1 wins, including the Santa Anita Derby in 2023.

His win record speaks for itself, with just under 4,000 wins since his debut. This is, however, his first such suspension, and that’s exactly what he attested to in a statement. Released before Holmes’ modified ruling, Vazquez took to social media to open up about the incident.

Vazquez shared a note on X. “My track record has never been stained with negligence on the track and if you watch closely my filly got spooked with green cones right past the gap.

“Unfortunately, at that moment I was going to the left hand whip. For those of you that cannot understand or decipher a race, watch my filly’s ears; she raises them. A jockey or someone who understands riding races can notice everything I said and fact check it.” 

For now, though, the commission’s verdict carries more weight than Vazquez’s explanation. While the veteran insists a spooked horse triggered the chain of events, the suspension remains in place for now.