Jockey, 30, banned for TEN years after stewards rule he was in possession of electrical device
Marshall Mendez, who has ridden on the track in America since 2021, has had 469 winners in his career. He is allowed to appeal the October 23 ruling by the stewards
A leading jockey at a racecourse in America has been banned for TEN years after stewards ruled he was in possession of an electrical device.
Marshall Mendez, who is second in this year's standings at Charles Town, West Virginia, was handed the punishment at the conclusion of a hearing into the matter.
It was scheduled after the 30-year-old was reported to have handed off the prohibited device before the ninth contest of the West Virginia Breeders' Classic night on October 11, according to Paulick Report.
Mendez, whose horses have scooped nearly $10.7 million of prize money in his career which began in 2021, won the West Virginia Dash for Cash Breeders' Classic with Time to Rock on the card.
He also secured the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association Onion Juice Breeders' Classic aboard Cynthia McKee-trained No Change - his biggest prize money earner overall.
Mendez, who has had 71 winners from 419 appearances at Charles Town this year, can appeal the decision by Denver Beckner, Roy Cave and Carlos Partida at the West Virginia Racing Commission.
They considered video and witness evidence before ordering the rider to be suspended until October 22, 2035.
The local rules of racing state: "No electrical or mechanical device or other expedient designed to increase or retard the speed of a horse, other than the riding crop approved by stewards, shall be possessed by anyone, or applied by anyone to the horse at any time on the grounds of the association during the meeting, whether in a race or otherwise. Licensees shall take action to ensure that devices are not being used."
From 2,978 career starts, former groom and exercise rider Mendez has registered 469 victories and Charles Town has been his main circuit since 2022.
From Puerto Rico, he previously told how he spent six years learning how to gallop racehorses before starting out on the track.