Punishment Announced for Sovereignty Jockey Junior Alvarado After Kentucky Derby
A week ago today, May 3, 2025, jockey Junior Alvarado led Sovereignty to victory in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Just a few days later, trainer Bill Mott revealed Sovereignty wouldn't be running in the 150th Preakness Stakes, ending any hope of a Triple Crown winner this year.
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"I don't know of anyone in the camp that was interested in running him back in two weeks. We definitely discussed it, but we opted to point to the Belmont. He wasn't any more tired than you would expect after the Derby," Mott said, via Blood Horse.
"He came back in pretty good order. But he's had three hard races this year and the race in the mud (the Kentucky Derby), it was a tough one. "It's not the fact that you run in the Derby and then you run back in two weeks. It's not that horses can't do that. We opted to look at the long term and his whole career.
Fast forward just two days later, and Sovereignty was back in the headlines - or better yet, his jockey was. On May 9, 2025, stewards determined Alvarado struck Sovereignty eight times during the Kentucky Derby, twice more than the legal limit.
Following the rules violation, Alvarado was hit with a $62,000 fine and a two-day racing suspension, according to Blood Horse. The racing site noted this wasn't an unexpected outcome for Alvarado, who knew he broke the rules.
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"I wasn't galloping by 10 (lengths). When the extra whip happened, I was right next to the favorite and I needed to do what I needed to do at the time," Alvarado said after the race. "After (watching a replay), I saw I went over, but I had no time to think about that (in the moment). I just wanted to win the biggest race in America."
Sovereignty is scheduled to run in the final leg of the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes on June 4, 2025.
Related: Everyone Made the Same Joke After Journalism's Kentucky Derby Loss
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