‘Drunk’ jockeys suspended after night degenerated into argument over smashed phone

According to Netkeiba.com, the JRA was alerted by stable officials to the incident, which occurred on Monday, after which both jockeys and other witnesses were interviewed.

Netkeiba reported that Ikezoe and Tomita had dinner at a restaurant in Hakodate. “Both were drunk and Ikezoe behaved rudely toward Tomita, for example,” the report said.

“Tomita could not stand this behavior and slammed a smartphone lying next to it on the table, breaking the screen. But the phone belonged to Ikezoe.

“After that, Ikezoe and Tomita got into an argument, but another jockey present separated the two and Ikezoe went back to the training room first.

“Ikezoe was still angry after his smartphone screen broke, so he called Tomita and told him to return to the training room. He waited in the lobby on the first floor and the two got into an argument that led to a violent brawl.”

The JRA statement said: “It has been confirmed that jockeys Kenichi Ikezoe and Akira Tomita acted violently towards each other in the fitting room of Hakodate Racecourse at around 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.”

“Because this constitutes a violation of Article 147, Paragraph 20 of the Japan Racing Association’s Horse Racing Enforcement Regulations, jockey Kenichi Ikezoe has been suspended from riding from Saturday, June 29, 2024, to Sunday, July 7, 2024, and jockey Akira Tomita has been suspended from riding from Saturday, June 29, 2024, to Sunday, June 30, 2024.”

Ikezoe, who made his debut in 1998, has won 27 Group 1 races for a total of 1,381 career victories. He won the JRA’s Fair Play Award in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2010. He is best known in Japan as the regular rider of champion racehorse Orfevre, who twice finished second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Tomita has ridden 190 winners and last year he recorded a season-best 42 winners. The only other jockey to be suspended for assaulting another jockey was the late Hiroki Goto in 1999, who was suspended for four months.