Jockey Jeremy Rose was suspended for six months following a stewards' hearing the morning of June 24 for whipping his mount Appeal to the City in the face during the third race at Delaware Park June 23.
In the official ruling, Delaware Park stewards contended that Rose “engaged in extreme misuse of the whip during the stretch run while on the horse Appeal to the City.” John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, said the horse experienced some hemorrhaging around its eye due to contact with Rose’s whip.
Appeal to the City, a 5-year-old daughter of Appealing Skier, was initially examined by commission veterinarian John Peters, after which she was taken to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center for treatment. Wayne said though the injuries were serious, he believed the mare would be OK and would not lose her eyesight.
The stewards' ruling also stated that Rose would be responsible for all veterinarian bills for the care and treatment required for Appeal to the City. Rose is required to attend and complete an anger management course to be approved in advance by the stewards at their sole discretion within the next six months.
Owned by Raymond Makarovich, the mare is trained by Howard Wolfendale, who declined to comment on the situation until it was settled. Calls made to Rose and his agent, Kid Breeden were not immediately returned the afternoon of June 24. On June 25 Rose released this statement on the incident. Likewise, Wolfendale also spoke on the issue.
On June 25, Wayne said he visited Appeal to the City at New Bolton. "She has responded well to the treatment that she has received at the equine hospital," Wayne said. "She was very alert and happy in her stall while I was talking with her two veterinarians. We were pleased to see she was in good spirits."
Attorney Alan Foreman, who is representing Rose, said he would be meeting with his client June 25 to get a detailed account of what happened during the race.
“Jeremy has told me that (the whipping incident) was not intentional,” Foreman said. “It was an accident; he knew something was wrong immediately when he brought the horse back. He reported it immediately to Howard Wolfendale that he thought he might have hit the horse in the eye.
"I can tell you that there’s nobody more upset than Jeremy Rose. There’s nothing more upsetting to Jeremy than the fact he may have injured this horse. Jeremy is a beloved rider...this is a very difficult situation for him, but from the minute this happened, he did the right thing, and he’s going to do the right thing, so I don’t think that’s even going to be an issue.”
“This is very unusual, although when something like this does happen, I’d like to think we took the appropriate actions today, which was very quickly,” Wayne said of the hearing. “We have to protect our due process rights, but (Rose) had a hearing, and he was suspended."
Wayne said Rose has appealed his suspension, which will be considered at another hearing July 22. Rose requested a stay for the riding infraction until the hearing, but that request was denied.
Wayne pointed out that while Rose is only suspended in Delaware, there usually is reciprocity throughout other racing jurisdictions. Rose, who is denied the privileges of all grounds of Delaware Park during his suspension, was scheduled for several mounts June 24 at Delaware, but was taken off all of them. His suspension goes through Dec. 24.
“This was an act that the stewards considered very serious, as well as the commission,” Wayne said. “We would like to think that it was an out-of-character thing for Jeremy.”
A native of Bellefonte, Pa., Rose, 29, won the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes (both gr. I) aboard Afleet Alex. In 2001, he was honored with an Eclipse Award as top apprentice jockey. Since 2000, Rose has won a career total of 1,730 races from 8,600 mounts.