Two horse-racing jockeys fight using fists and whips, during a race at the horse track, each jockey literally riding on horseback at Philadelphia Park while exchanging punches. "Divine Light" jockey rider Eriluis Vaz and jockey Ademar Santos, riding racing horse "Mi Helena," were involved in the fistfight that turned to whipping. The most serious punches, and subsequent whip fight, occurs near video clip end.
Punches are exchanged as the two horse jockeys near each other during each point on the racetrack where they're able to reach out far enough to hit, then resorting to points of using the horse whip. Wack. Video of the Philadelphia Park race track is attached to this wack.
The horse jockey fight, which occurred while two riders were physically on horseback in the middle of a race, happened in the Fifth Race at Philadelphia Park. Sparks flew when racing horse "Divine Light," ridden by jockey Eriluis Vaz, was disqualified by horse-racing officials after that horse's jockey punched Ademar Santos, whom was riding "Mi Helena" at the time.
Just what happened to cause the fight on horseback, followed by one jockey's use of a whip? This horse race was certainly not in the norm. Video replay showed jockey Santos retaliating in using his arm before Vaz actually used his whip across the rival jockey's back.
Jockey Santos accused Vaz of careening toward him three times before the fight broke out fully, telling reporters: "I asked, 'Man, why you go like that?'. "Then he hit me in the face...[hit me] in the mouth."
"My [horse] rider [Santos] said, 'I got hit in the face; I've got to do something,'" said Santos' agent, Carson Phelps. "It looked like [jockey Vaz] was trying to knock him [Santos] off the horse" in the Fifth.
"Mi Helena's" trainer, John Scanlan, said he had never witnessed such on-course behavior in person, only on film. Said Scanlan, "He's [jockey, Santos] fired forever riding for me. I've been in this game for 50 years. I've only seen this once before, on a film." The jockey fight is probably the only one Philadelphia Park is bound to see.
The fight between the horse-racing jockeys obviously represents unsportsmanlike behavior. Most professional sports would be seeing suspensions around the corner. But, then again, horse racing fans aren't exactly hockey fans-and maybe the sport just doesn't expect this type of behavior to actually occur on track.
The jockeys' punches can be potentially serious to a horse-racing owner's, and agent's, reputation: "There were 11 horses in the race, and a lot of other [racing] horses were getting banged around because of it [the fight between jockeys]," Scanlan said. "We were lucky there wasn't a spill. They [fighting jockeys] should get a penalty and get it big.''
Penalties aside, the horse-racing jockeys seem lucky to be escaping any assault charges regarding the physical fight with each other, if in fact time proves that no charges or assault-related legal issues will be filed or pursued. Only four months ago, Jockey Eddie Perez tried to involve the Arlington Heights police department to press charges against fellow Arlington rider Chris Emigh, following a locker-room fight.
Perez and his horse, mount "Bellerive", were disqualified from first to fifth in a race for bumping Emigh's mount, "Friendly Face". A fight, between the two jockeys, later broke out in the jockeys' room. Jockey Perez seemed to get the worst of the fight, with head contusions and reported contusions to ears, ear drums, and stitches for a cut mouth.
Following medical treatment after the fight, jocky Perez called on the Arlington Heights police department, where the department confirms that Perez "came in looking to have charges filed."
With no charges of any type filed in the Philadelphia Park race track fight, yet, just as serious is the endangerment to other horses and jockeys on the racetrack. Had either jockey been thrown from a spooked horse or fallen during the punches, the situation could have been more than severe. Jockeys could have been trampled to death, and horses seriously injured, had a fall occurred.
Whatever testosterone and idiocy aside, the one remarkability is that both jockeys actually managed to stay on horseback throughout the entire fight. Even with actual punches being exchanged, and a whip being used across the back or side of a jockey, neither jockey fell from his horse during the race.