PETA calls for investigation into jockey aboard Preakness winner

PETA called on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to strip Preakness-winning jockey Paco Lopez of his race winnings for alleged violations of whip use rules while steering Napoleon Solo to victory Saturday in the 151st Preakness Stakes.

Lopez earned a $120,000 share of the winner's purse for being aboard the winner during the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park.

According to PETA, after reviewing frame-by-frame video of Napoleon Solo's run, Lopez raised his whip hand over his helmet to strike the horse three times in an explicit violation of HISA rules.

PETA said in a statement the request for a formal inquiry included still photos and video evidence from the Preakness.

Lopez has a history of whip violations, and he was only recently reinstated from a six-month suspension for violating the same rule PETA flagged in the Preakness.

The HISA guide relative to whip use includes "Rule 2280(c)(1), (c) A Jockey shall not: (1) raise the crop with the Jockey's wrist above the Jockey's helmet when using the crop."

Lopez, 40, was horse racing's leading jockey in 2025 with 300 wins when he was suspended in September 2025 for raising of the whip over his helmet at Saratoga Race Course last August. That was a violation of his conditional reinstatement from a suspension for breaking the whipping rule in December 2024 at Parx Casino and Resort in Bensalem, Pa.

--Field Level Media