With the Breeders’ Cup just over a month away, this is the final stretch en route to the premier horse racing event. Among other entries to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this year, the 2025 Forego Stakes (grade 1) winner, Book’em Danno, was supposed to be one of the top contenders to win the race. However, yesterday, trainer Derek Ryan took the world by storm by announcing that the horse would “bypass” the Del Mar race slated for November 1. The reason? The “disgraceful” suspension of Paco Lopez by the HISA (Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority).

The celebrity jockey was handed a six-month extension on his suspension, in reference to the incident from last December, when Lopez was found guilty of using the riding crop too harshly on National Law at Parx Racing. As soon as the infraction came to light, Paco was suspended for 50 days, following which he was reinstated in January this year. However, just last Monday, the sentence was extended, and the jockey’s comrades are now stepping up, noting how uncalled for the HISA directive is.

In an X post from September 28 by the official Jockeys’ Guild handle, one of the biggest faces of the horse racing community noted their frustration over the Paco Lopez fiasco. “Hall of Famer and Jockeys’ Guild Co-Chairman Mike Smith speaks in support of Paco Lopez,” reads the caption of the post, as the accompanying video shows the 2018 Triple Crown-winning jockey sharing his thoughts on the matter. “I, along with the guild, truly believe that the 6-month suspension is just too harsh. It’s just too much. It outweighs the crime,” Smith said.

“What happened in December with Paco at Parx compared to what he’s been penalized for now is nowhere the same. You lift your hand over or up to your head: I understand it is a penalty, which he did get penalized for and did do the suspension, he did do the days. And then all of a sudden, he’s getting six more months is outrageous, it’s too much,” Smith didn’t hold back on HISA’s coming down on Lopez like a bolt from the blue.

Smith’s statement arrives just a day after the Churchill Downs Jockeys’ Room extended its solidarity to Paco Lopez amidst the trying times. In a social media update from Saturday, the day Smith won Bob Baffert his ninth Goodwood Stakes, the CDI group cleared its stand on Lopez’s corner. “We think it’s excessive. Yes, he did have several violations, but the punishment doesn’t fit the crime,” jockey Tyler Gaffalione could be heard saying on behalf of his comrades.

The HISA, on the other hand, seems to view the extended suspension as a natural decision that’s in line with its broader objectives. “HISA remains committed to upholding the highest standards of safety and integrity in horse racing. We take any behavior that undermines the trust of participants and fans with the utmost seriousness,” the horse and jockey safety regulatory body said via a press release last Monday. The horse racing community has been in an uproar since the verdict came to light, citing that the jockey had already served his time.

However, Smith and the other jockeys aren’t the only ones who seem to think that the Mexican jockey shouldn’t be made to stay away from the racecourse for yet another spell.

Paco Lopez’s misfortune has everyone showing up

Ever since the HISA announced its decision to sideline Lopez for another half a year, support from all over started flooding in. Claiming this felt more like vindication instead of meting out justice, horse racing fans have slammed the governing body’s decision against the 39-year-old as “unfair“. Not surprising, considering that Lopez, along with serving his 50-day ban, was also directed to make sizeable donations to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement, and participate in therapy sessions, as part of redeeming himself for his actions from last year.

Quite obviously, the extended six-month suspension wasn’t something the horse racing community was prepared for. The news came as such a shock that even Hall of Famer John Velazquez couldn’t help but note his displeasure over HISA’s ruling. “We have to stand with Paco when this ends, in the sense that the penalty he just received…six months for the multivariate violations, and he also served some of those days already is very effective,” said the member of the Jockeys’ Guild top brass, “Six months is excessive, and we hope that in the future we can fix this problem,” underscoring that the search for a middle ground continues.

So, as it stands, the all-time leading Breeders’ Cup jockey is out of the top-tier event this year. And now, with Book’em Danno also pulling away, who do you think will emerge as the winner from the turbulence? Share your thoughts with us!