Daggerman's suspension reduced

Jockey Prince ‘Daggerman’ Holder has had his 25 raceday ban reduced to seven days by the Jamaica Racing Commission after lodging a successful appeal. Holder was slapped with the lengthy ban and a fine of $10,000 after his mount Leekout was disqualified  and placed out of the race, having won the last event on the May 5 programme at Caymanas Park.

Holder was found guilty of breaching rule 217.2 of the rules of racing after he weighed in 1 kilogram less than what he had weighed out with prior to the start of the race. At Thursday's hearing, questions were raised about the accuracy of the scale at the winner's enclosure on the day in question and it was also put to the stewards that a 25 raceday ban was overly excessive for jockey coming back to the scale 1 kilogram short.

However, the $10,000 fine remains in place for Holder whose 7-day suspension will take effect on Wednesday. He was represented at Thursday's hearing by veteran sports broadcaster Ed Barnes.