Kentucky Derby-Winning Jockey, Junior Alvarado, Fined and Suspended for Excessive Whipping

Six days after winning the Kentucky Derby aboard Sovereignty, Alvarado was docked 20 percent of his winning share for a rule violation.

Jockey Junior Alvarado celebrates atop Sovereignty after winning the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on May 3, 2025. Michael Reaves/Getty Images

At the 2025 Kentucky Derby, jockey Junior Alvarado rode Sovereignty to a 1 1/2 lengths victory at Churchill Downs. Alvarado deployed a closing technique for the horse, which was in 16th place, out of 19 contenders, entering the backstretch, as he saved Sovereignty’s best for last as he made up ground to win The Run for the Roses.

However, Alvarado’s tactic of whipping the horse repeatedly with his riding crop, in order to spur his closing kick down the stretch, ran afoul of thoroughbred racing rules. As a result, the jockey has been both fined and suspended by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which issued its ruling on Friday after meeting with Alvarado on Thursday.

Per the ruling, Alvarado struck Sovereignty eight times with the crop, while six is the maximum allowable. Additionally, this is Alvarado’s second violation in the past 180 days. Thus, he was levied a $62,000 fine and suspended for two Kentucky racing days on May 29 and May 30.

Fines for this specific violation are normally 10 percent of a jockey’s share, with winning the Kentucky Derby resulting in a $310,000 payout for the winning jockey. That would amount to $31,000 in fine money, but with this being Alvarado’s second infraction in the last six months, the amount is doubled to $62,000.

The result of the race is not affected by this ruling from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, whose mission is to implement “integrity and safety rules that are applied consistently to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility.”

The Kentucky Derby was one of four mounts that Alvarado had on May 3 at Churchill Downs. He didn’t violate this specific rule in any of his other three races, but he also didn’t win any of those other three. He finished second aboard Patriot Spirit in the Knicks Go Overnight, placed eighth riding Serene Seraph in the Distaff Turf Mile, and finished 11th mounting Megalodon in the American Turf.

While horses typically race once every couple of weeks, jockeys often participate in multiple races in a single day. Thus, Alvarado being suspended for two days could result in him missing several races.

This discipline will end up as merely a footnote in the performance of Sovereignty, who went off as the third-favorite at the 2025 Kentucky Derby. The horse, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, had lost his previous start, as he finished runner-up at the Florida Derby in late March. However, the colt, clearly, was comfortable on the dirt track at Churchill Downs as he had previously prevailed in his lone prior start at the venue, the Street Sense Stakes in October 2024.

The win gave Mott his second Kentucky Derby victory (2019) with his 14th attempt at the race. Alvarado, a 38-year-old from Venezuela, got the defining moment of his 20-plus-year career, which includes over 14,000 starts and over 2,000 victories. This was Alvarado’s first Kentucky Derby win, after having five previous starters in which none of those horses even finished in the money. In fact, it was the first Triple Crown race win for Alvarado, who has yet to win at either the Preakness Stakes or Belmont Stakes.

We now know that Alvarado won’t be racing in Kentucky on May 29 or May 30, after having already learned that he won’t be racing—aboard Sovereignty at least—on May 17 at the Preakness. Mott has already made the decision to bypass the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, which means there will be no bid for a Triple Crown in 2025. Mott said he’s doing “what’s best for the horse” and will instead point him to the final leg of the Triple Crown at the 2025 Belmont Stakes on June 7.

In a growing trend, this will be the fifth time in seven years that the Preakness will occur with no chance for a Triple Crown. While the 2024 and 2023 Derby winners did run in the second leg, none of the four prior Preakness Stakes had even a chance for the most coveted prize in thoroughbred racing.

Rich Strike, who won in 2022, bypassed the Preakness and was also pointed towards the Belmont, just like Sovereignty. The 2021 winner, Mandaloun, wasn’t awarded his Kentucky Derby victory until nine months after the race, following the disqualification of Medina Spirit for a banned substance. Thus, Mandaloun skipped both the Preakness and Belmont. The 2020 Triple Crown races were held out of order, due to the pandemic, and the 2019 Derby winner, Country House, withdrew from the Preakness due to a virus.

The last Triple Crown champion was Justify in 2018. While Sovereignty’s bid for a Triple Crown won’t occur, that doesn’t mean that Alvarado’s bid is over as well. It’s not uncommon for jockeys to ride a horse for one leg of the Triple Crown and then ride a different horse for another leg. So, Alvarado could still mount a horse at the Preakness if a trainer so desires to have him aboard, and the jockey’s Kentucky Derby win is a pretty good resume builder and will likely outweigh his crop violation.