The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced Tuesday that jockey Paco Lopez has been suspended for six months, effective September 23, 2025, according to a press release from HISA.
The release says that, “The suspension stems from Mr. Lopez’s violation of the terms of his conditional reinstatement, related to a December 4, 2024 incident involving Mr. Lopez’s use of the riding crop on the Covered Horse, National Law.”
“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, HISA said in its press release. “By enforcing rules consistently, we aim to promote fairness in the adjudication process, protect both horses and riders and preserve confidence in the integrity of the sport.”
In December, Lopez was hit with an indefinite suspension for striking National Law across the face with his whip after the race was over. He served 50 days of the suspension before being allowed to ride, but that came with some conditions. He was ordered to participate in therapy sessions and make sizeable donations to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption and Placement.
When asked what portion of the terms of the reinstatement Lopez had violated, a HISA spokesperson responded:
“Since Mr. Lopez returned from his suspension in January, 2025, he has been found by stewards to have committed 10 violations of HISA’s riding crop rule, including eight violations in which the crop was raised with his wrist above his helmet when using the crop. The cumulative nature of the violations demonstrates a pattern of disregard for HISA’s rules and presents risk of injury to Covered Horses.”
Those rulings may be seen on HISA’s rulings page.
In a press release issued Tuesday shortly before the HISA release came out, PETA called for action against Lopez for “violently” striking Book ’em Danno (Bucchero) in the GI Forego Stakes, lifting “his arm high, with his wrist above his helmet, to land harder blows four separate times,” the organization said. PETA’s story says that they sent “an urgent letter to HISA” after receiving calls and emails about the incident.
“While that recitation of the rules violations may be accurate, all of those violations were addressed by the stewards at the time they happened,” said Lopez’s attorney, Drew Mollica. “Moreover, none of those violations in any way relate to the National Law incident. To suggest anything else is a complete mischaracterization of the agreement between the parties. We fervently deny that Mr. Lopez has breached ay convenant of our agreement and look forward to a full and fair hearing on the merits, without PETA interference or character assassination being part of the process.”