State racing stewards in Arkansas disqualified Valhol as the winner of the April 10 Arkansas Derby and suspended jockey Billy Patin yesterday after concluding he carried a banned electrical device.
At a hearing in Little Rock, stewards ordered that Valhol's $300,000 winner's share of the purse be returned and redistributed. Certain, the second-place finisher, was declared the winner.
Patin was fined $2,500 and suspended through the end of 1999 -- the maximum punishment available to stewards. The three-member panel referred the matter to the Arkansas Racing Commission with the suggestion that it extend Patin's suspension through May 5, 2004.
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