Delaware Apprentice Loses License After Suspicious Riding Pattern

Delaware Park stewards rescinded the license of apprentice jockey Marvin Rafael Fernandez just one day after he guided a 228-1 longshot to a third-place finish, determining his “performance was not satisfactory to the standards required to hold the license.”

The 35-year-old jockey, who had been riding under temporary licensure at the 10-pound apprentice level, will retain his exercise riding license according to the Oct. 17 ruling signed by stewards Joelyn Rigione, Robert Colton and William Troilo.

Fernandez had accumulated five lifetime mounts in the 2024-25 racing season.

The stewards’ decision came after evaluating Fernandez’s performance across three probationary races on Oct. 15 and 16, during which he twice finished in the money. Despite these in-the-money finishes, officials deemed his riding below required standards.

No specific infractions were cited in the official charts or daily stewards’ reports during Fernandez’s probationary period. However, stewards did order him to appear at next-day film reviews after each of his rides for “crop” reasons, according to footnotes in the daily reports.

In his first probationary mount on Oct. 15, Fernandez piloted a 19-1 shot near the back of a nine-horse claiming route, ultimately beating only one eased entrant.

His second mount on Oct. 16 saw him guide a 6-1 chance to the lead from the rail in a four-horse claiming sprint. The horse maintained the advantage until deep stretch before being overtaken by a 3-10 favorite while securing second place.

Most notably, in the sixth race on Oct. 16, Fernandez rode Midnight Getaway (Midnight Storm) at odds of 228-1. According to the Equibase chart, the horse “bumped with an inner foe at the start, rated in the four path, swung out to the seven path turning into the lane, and rallied for show,” finishing just half a length behind the winner.

The Delaware Park meet concluded on Saturday, Oct. 18, just one day after the stewards’ ruling.

Attempts to reach both Fernandez and the Delaware Park stewards’ office on Monday were unsuccessful.