In a pair of April 10 rulings, the Maryland Racing Commission stewards issued two four-day suspensions to apprentice rider Trevor McCarthy.

He reportedly is appealing them and thus will continue to ride until the Commission hears the appeal on May 20.

McCarthy, the leading rider at Pimlico with 13 wins to date, saw his mounts disqualified in two consecutive races on April 6.  In the eighth, Ghareeb — a horse with something of a history of being hard to handle — was disqualified from first and placed last for, the stewards said, “interfering with several horses during different times of the race.”  Entering the first turn, he put most of the rest of the field in tight when moving in to engage with the leader.  Then, nearing the quarter pole, he swerved out in front of Tooth N Claw, causing that one to clip heels and stumble; jockey Christian Santiago Reyes was fortunate to hang on.

In the ninth race on that day, McCarthy’s mount, Bret’s at Caddies, was disqualified from second after bearing in and impeding the tiring Irish Donnie, causing that one to clip heels and stumble.

Had he not appealed, McCarthy would have served the first suspension from April 17 to April 24 and the second from April 25 to May 1.  He has five more wins than Pimlico’s second-leading rider thus far, Horacio Karamanos…

It’s not that unusual for a horse to lose his jockey but go on to finish the race riderless.  But what happened in yesterday’s second at Charles Town was unusual.  Near the five-sixteenths pole of the 4 1/2 furlong race for $5,000 claimers, Capetown Rebel took some awkward steps.  Rider Victor Rodriguez stood up to try to pull the horse up.  When that didn’t work, Rodriguez apparently decided discretion was the better part of valor — and he jumped off the horse.  “Awkward steps, rider bailed,” read the chart’s short comment.  The horse did finish the race and appeared sound.  For his part, Rodriguez came back to win the very next race…

Trainer Scott Lake and rider Josue Arce teamed up to post two wins yesterday at Parx Racing.  The duo took the second with Burning Mandate and the sixth with Blonde on Blonde, an 11-1 longshot.  Lake now has 30 wins in 2014, 11 of them at Parx; Arce has nine wins from 27 mounts this year…

(Featured image by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.)