Junior Alvarado was given a $62,000 fine and suspended for two upcoming racing days for striking Sovereignty eight times with his riding crop during the Kentucky Derby.

The jockey who won the Kentucky Derby has been fined and suspended for using the riding crop too much during the race. Jockey Junior Alvarado struck Sovereignty, the three-year-old colt that won the crown, eight times during the race, officials say. Regulations say a rider may strike a horse a maximum of six times with a crop.

Junior Alvarado, the jockey who rode Sovereignty to victory at the 2025 Kentucky Derby, was fined $62,000 on Friday after the Horse Integrity and Safety Authority ruled he had whipped his horse too many times.