Derby winning rider failed to disclose criminal record

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By Richard Rosenblatt, Associated Press, 5/7/2004 18:40

Kentucky Derby winning jockey Stewart Elliott pleaded guilty to assault three years ago, but didn't disclose the information when applying for a license to ride at Churchill Downs.

His failure to do so is unlikely to affect Elliott's winning ride aboard Smarty Jones in last Saturday's Derby, though the 39-year-old rider could face disciplinary action, the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority said Friday.

It also raises questions about his riding status for next Saturday's Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Messages left on Elliott's cell phone Friday weren't immediately returned. His agent, Ray Lopez, said Elliott made a mistake when filling out the form to ride in Kentucky.

The form, a copy of which was obtained from the Kentucky racing authority, includes eight questions, one of which asks if the applicant has been arrested, indicted or convicted or has pleaded guilty to any criminal offense within the last 10 years.

Elliott checked ''No'' because, according to his agent, the jockey did not realize the time frame was 10 years.

''He made a mistake,'' Lopez said. ''We've talked to stewards in Kentucky and Maryland and everything is cleared up. It won't affect the Derby, and it's not going to affect the Preakness.''

Elliott pleaded guilty in June 2001 to aggravated assault stemming from a fight with a friend inside the man's Burlington County, N.J., home in 2000. Elliott was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $13,900 to cover the victim's medical bills, according to court records.

Elliott beat Alexander Kovakik with a beer bottle, pool cue and wooden stool, according to the grand jury indictment charging the jockey with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and unlawful possession.

The latter two charges were dropped after Elliott agreed to plead guilty.

In April 2002, a judge cut short Elliott's probation by two months after his lawyer said New Jersey racing officials would not renew his jockey's license.

Disclosure of a criminal record doesn't automatically disqualify a jockey from obtaining a license in Kentucky.

If an application has been falsified, a jockey could face fines, suspension, revocation or ''other disciplinary measures,'' according to the Kentucky racing authority.

Kentucky racing officials planned to investigate, but it could be two weeks before a decision is issued, said racing authority spokesman Billy Reed.

''We're confident this will have no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the Kentucky Derby,'' Reed said.

Michael Hopkins, the executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission, said Elliott has been granted a license, but would not reveal whether the jockey disclosed his criminal record on the form.

Even if he did, Hopkins said, that wouldn't necessarily mean Elliott's request for a license would be rejected.

''It's depending on what the offense was,'' Hopkins said.

Hopkins said he was unaware of Elliott's guilty plea but added, ''I'll have my investigators look into it.''


wil.
 

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If THis Was A Football Basketball Or Baseball Player They Would Be Giving Him A Humanitatian Award. Hell Shoot Or Rape Somebody And Suit Up The Same Night And They Are Going To Break This Guys Balls?
 

Hard work never killed anyone, but why chance it?
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Last year, the media drummed up that Santos had rode the battery in the Derby, costing him a few days of celebration. Guess this is the best they could do this go round. Elliott obviously had this incident previously disclosed on his Pennsylvania license info.
 

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UPDATE:

Elliott cleared to ride in Preakness
By David Ginsburg, Associated Press, 5/8/2004 16:32

BALTIMORE (AP) Kentucky Derby winning jockey Stewart Elliott was cleared by Maryland racing officials Saturday to ride in the Preakness.

Elliott pleaded guilty to assault three years ago, but didn't disclose the information when applying for a license to ride at Churchill Downs, where last Saturday he guided Smarty Jones to victory.

Though he could still face disciplinary action in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, ''He has no problems here,'' said Mike Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission.

The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, will be run next Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

Hopkins said stewards at Pimlico contacted Elliott and asked him to submit an amended application to ride in Maryland.

Elliott complied with the request.

Earlier at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pa., Elliott said: ''I'm not looking at my past I'm looking at my future.''

''Everybody looks for something bad to say,'' he said after Smarty Jones' first public gallop since the Derby.

Elliott's agent, Ray Lopez, wasn't surprised the jockey was cleared.

''We never really had a problem. There was never a doubt in my mind. It was never really an issue,'' Lopez said. ''The worst that can happen is a fine. It was never a question of being allowed to race.''

Lopez said Elliott made a mistake when filling out the form to ride in Kentucky.

The form includes a question which asks if the applicant has been arrested, indicted or convicted or has pleaded guilty to any criminal offense within the last 10 years.

Elliott checked ''No'' because, according to Lopez, the jockey did not realize the time frame was 10 years.

Kentucky racing officials planned to investigate, but it could be two weeks before a decision is issued, racing authority spokesman Billy Reed said.

''We're confident this will have no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the Kentucky Derby,'' he said Friday.

Elliott pleaded guilty in June 2001 to aggravated assault stemming from a fight with a friend inside the man's Burlington County, N.J., home in 2000. Elliott was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $13,900 to cover the victim's medical bills, according to court records.

Elliott beat Alexander Kovakik with a beer bottle, pool cue and wooden stool, according to the grand jury indictment charging the jockey with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and unlawful possession.

The latter two charges were dropped after Elliott agreed to plead guilty.


wil.
 

The World Is My Playground!!
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Good god O'mighty, I'd love to see the guy he beat the shit out of...this little dude is 5' tall and weighs 100 f*ckin' pounds and he did 13K in damage to another dude??? Did he beat up an old woman or something?? maybe a handicapped person?? Dump them out of their wheelchair??? WTF???
 

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Jockeys may be small but the little guys are STRONG. Not to mention athetletic.

wil.
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