By T. D. Thornton
While the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission operates under the threat of a state-ordered shutdown because the account that funds its operations has run out of money, two cases that generated significant headlines earlier this year remain in an appeals-process limbo.
Jockey Pierre Hernandez-Ortega is currently riding pending appeal of a May 28 license revocation that occurred several weeks after a search of the jockeys' quarters turned up an illegal electrical stimulating device. Initially, another jockey, Angel Castillo, had his license revoked for that violation, but the PHRC later exonerated Castillo and alleged that the device instead belonged to Hernandez-Ortega, and that his attempt to conceal it was the “equivalent to an attempt to fix the outcome of the fifth race at Parx on May 12, 2015.”
Hernandez-Ortega's appeal had already been postponed twice before an Oct. 15 hearing was also canceled. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture–the agency to which the PHRC directs all media requests–wrote in an email that no new hearing date has been set. Hernandez-Ortega is currently the fifth winningest rider at the Parx meet.
Separately, the case of the former Smarty Jones groom, who was ruled off by Parx management after an injured gelding he owned was discovered in an auction “kill pen,” also remains unresolved.
Mario DeJesus-Arriaga appealed his ejection under the track's “zero tolerance” owner-responsibility rule to the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. But his Oct. 27 hearing never happened and has since been pushed back to December.
DeJesus-Arriaga has started horses at the Meadowlands and Penn National since being evicted from Parx.
The TDN has twice asked the Department of Agriculture to clarify what, if any, jurisdiction the PHRC has over a private property owner [Parx] ejecting an unwanted person from its premises, but has yet to receive a reply.
Both hearing postponements were granted by the PHRC at the request of the appellants, the Department of Agriculture spokesperson wrote. @thorntontd
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