Jockey gets ONE-YEAR ban as punters claim he ‘let his girlfriend win race’ after ‘suspicious’ ride on odds-on favourite

A JOCKEY has been hit with a huge one-year ban – after punters claimed his ‘suspicious’ ride ‘let his girlfriend win’ a race.

US-based rider Albin Jimenez was hauled in front of stewards after the trainer of 3-5 favourite Afleet Vintage demanded an immediate investigation.

Top rider Albin Jimenez has been hit with a one-year ban for failing to ride a favourite to obtain the best possible placing – in a race won by his girlfriend and mother of their child Summer Pauly

Jimenez never really got going on the 3-5 favourite as partner Summer Pauly surged clear to win in good style

Handler Tommy Drury Jr removed Jimenez from all his booked rides on his runners following the incident at Belterra Park racecourse in Ohio.

In the race itself, Jimenez, who is the leading rider at the track and has more than £26million in career earnings, appeared to be going well on the odds-on fav.

Held up at the back, it looked like he was waiting for the straight before making his move down the outside.

But for whatever reason, the horse doesn’t pick up despite being encouraged with one strike of the whip and finished an eased-down second.

The race was won by 3-1 Permit To Carry, who was ridden by Summer Pauly, the mother of Jimenez’s child.

They welcomed their first baby together, Lainey Michelle Jimenez, in January, with the proud mum saying the little girl had ‘completely changed my life’.

Stewards took a dim view of the race and determined Jimenez ‘did not put forth his best effort to win’.

All jockeys must ride to obtain the best possible placing.

They deemed his efforts worth of a one-year ban, which would be reduced to six months if he doesn’t appeal.

At the time of writing it was not clear whether he would appeal, but his agent Bert Crawford denied any wrongdoing on behalf of his client.

Punters were up in arms over the race regardless – and their anger only grew when they found out Jimenez’s link to Pauly.

Although there is no suggestion of any collusion between the pair and jockeys in relationships are freely allowed to compete in the same races.

One punter wrote on X: “This is stinking especially when the winner was his girlfriend.”

Others felt the stewards had come down too harshly on Jimenez, saying they’d seen much worse rides go unpunished.

Amazingly, this is not the first time a jockey has been accused of making it easier for their other half to win a race.

In 2017, an Australian jockey allegedly veered right across the track to stop rivals getting to the leader, enabling his girlfriend at the time to win.

Although she insisted she would have won without her then-partner’s help.