(LEX 18) — PETA is demanding Churchill Downs ban jockey Paco Lopez from the Kentucky Derby after documenting hundreds of whipping rule violations at Fair Grounds Race Course in Louisiana.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Churchill Downs CEO William Carstanjen, the animal rights organization detailed how Lopez has continued violating whipping regulations despite serving a six-month suspension from tracks regulated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
According to the letter, Lopez is currently suspended from HISA-regulated tracks for repeatedly raising his wrist above his helmet when striking horses with his whip. However, he has been racing at Fair Grounds Race Course, which is owned by Churchill Downs Inc. but operates under Louisiana racing regulations rather than HISA rules.
PETA says in the letter that they reviewed video replays of Lopez's races and documented that he violated Louisiana's wrist-above-helmet whipping rule hundreds of times between October 2025 and the end of January 2026.
"The Kentucky Derby is no place to reward jockeys who lack self-control and win by cheating," PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo wrote in the letter.
The organization highlighted specific violations during two Kentucky Derby qualifying races at Fair Grounds. Lopez rode Chip Honcho, trained by Steve Asmussen, in both the Gun Runner Stakes and Lecomte Stakes, violating whipping rules in each race.
In the Lecomte Stakes, Lopez not only raised his wrist above his helmet but also exceeded Louisiana's six-strike limit by whipping Chip Honcho seven times, according to PETA's complaint.
PETA is urging Churchill Downs to ban Lopez from racing at Churchill Downs and disqualify any Derby qualifying points his horses have earned or will earn at Fair Grounds. This would include points from upcoming races like the Risen Star Stakes and the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby.
The organization criticized the situation where Kentucky Derby qualifying points can be earned at non-HISA tracks with different enforcement standards, even though the whipping regulations themselves are similar.
"It is already problematic that Kentucky Derby qualifying points can be earned at a non-HISA track-and one with different rules and poor enforcement," Guillermo wrote.
PETA also filed a complaint with the Louisiana Racing Commission regarding Lopez's conduct.
The letter calls into question the enforcement of whipping rules at Fair Grounds and suggests that Louisiana stewards and trainer Steve Asmussen are "apparently complicit in flouting the regulations."
Churchill Downs has not yet responded to PETA's letter.
