Nakatani Off His Mounts for 26 Days

Jockey Corey Nakatani, who pushed another rider off his horse after a race Sunday, was suspended for the rest of the Del Mar meet by state stewards Wednesday.

The three Del Mar stewards conducted a two-hour hearing earlier in the week into the incident. Altercations between jockeys after a race frequently result in small fines. This suspension, the equivalent of 26 racing days, will start Monday.

Nakatani also was ordered to participate in a counseling program “to address the issues of impulsive behavior and anger management.” He is also prohibited from exercising horses until Sept. 1 and has been placed on probation for a year.

The 43-day Del Mar meet ends Sept. 10. Nakatani will not be allowed to ride in designated stakes races, which are frequently exceptions for suspended jockeys.

Nakatani, whose horses have earned more than $6.3 million this year, ranking him sixth nationally, has 72 hours to appeal the ruling, and his attorney, Darrell Vienna, said that is a possibility.

An appeal to the California Horse Racing Board would probably result in the matter being sent to a state hearing officer. Nakatani would need a stay of the suspension from the board--rarely given--to ride before the appeal hearing.

Another option for Vienna would be to seek a court injunction, which if granted would allow Nakatani to ride while appealing.

Nakatani, 26, declined comment about the suspension. At Monday’s hearing before Del Mar stewards, he said he lost control in a heated situation, adding that he had been under a lot of stress recently.

Nakatani’s father suffered a fatal heart attack in April. The jockey’s sister was murdered last year and in 1995 his nephew died after a battle with leukemia.

Nakatani, who has won more than 1,600 races and ridden horses that have earned more than $75 million, has been in trouble with the stewards before.

In December 1995, Nakatani whipped his mount after it crossed the finish line and the horse fractured his leg and was destroyed. Nakatani was given a five-day suspension and fined $500, the stiffest penalty in 10 years for a whip violation in California.

Last April, Nakatani was fined $750 for reportedly head-butting another rider, Julio Garcia, after a race.

After Sunday’s seventh race, as the horses were galloping out past the wire, Nakatani and his horse, Boldly Ruhl, came up alongside apprentice jockey Ryan Barber and his mount, Policy Maker. Nakatani shoved Barber off his mount with his left arm. Barber’s horse had tired late in the race and came over under right-handed whipping, causing Nakatani to steady his mount.

Nakatani also reportedly got into a scuffle with another jockey, Alex Solis, when he returned to the jockeys’ room.

Barber, 20, has not ridden since the incident with Nakatani because of an injured right shoulder, according to agent Jim Pegram. Barber will start a seven-day suspension for a different incident Friday. In a race last Friday, a horse ridden by David Flores clipped the heels of a horse Barber was riding. Flores went down, suffering a cracked vertebra, a broken rib and a separated shoulder. He will be sidelined for at least six weeks. The stewards ruled that Barber’s horse interfered with Flores’ mount.

Nakatani’s agent, Bob Meldahl, could not estimate how costly a 26-day suspension would be, but said one assignment his rider will miss is on Sandpit in the Arlington Million on Aug. 24. Based on Nakatani’s estimated earnings through the first seven months this year, the suspension might cost him close to $100,000.

Nakatani rode three winners Wednesday, including Career Collection in the $100,000 Sorrento Stakes.