Jockeys Guild News and Articles

Veteran reinsman Randall Meier, 53, will be in the same race as his son, 19-year-old apprentice rider Brandon Meier, who has been riding professionally for less than a week.

 

The elder Meier will be aboard Quebella for trainer Monique Cameron while the younger Meier has the call aboard the Chris Ryan-trained Beautifulblueyes.

 

Randall Meier earned his 4,000th career victory last September at Arlington Park while Brandon Meier began his career with a victory in his first mount here on Sunday, May 11.  Arlington Park Communications Department

A Kentucky Derby Day promotion facilitated by NetJets, Inc., the Jockeys' Guild, Churchill Downs and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association (TOBA) has raised $500,000 to benefit NTRA Charities - Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund.  Jockey John Velazquez will present the gift to representatives of the fund on Friday morning at Pimlico Race Course.

 

NetJets, the worldwide leader in private aviation, contributed $200,000 to the donation on behalf of the 20 jockeys participating in Kentucky Derby 134 and made an additional contribution of $100,000.  Richard T. Santulli, chairman and CEO of NetJets, made a personal donation of $100,000, as did Bill Casner, owner of WinStar Farm and chairman of TOBA.  NetJets will also sponsor the riders competing in Saturday's 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes.

 

"NetJets is truly honored to join with the Derby jockeys and Bill Casner to make this donation to the NTRA Charities - Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund," said Richard T. Santulli.  "Through our sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby and now the Preakness, we hope to build awareness of the many worthy causes within the Thoroughbred industry, and help raise additional money to benefit these great causes.  The fund is a lifesaver to riders injured during the course of their careers, and we are privileged to join with these partners to support them through this gift."

 

"This is the single largest donation in the history of the fund, and we greatly appreciate the contributions of NetJets, the Kentucky Derby jockeys and the personal gifts of Richard Santulli and Bill Casner" said Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the NTRA.  "Their generosity and dedication is making a difference in the lives of disabled riders."

 

"I would like to thank NetJets, Richard Santulli, Bill Casner and the jockeys who participated in Kentucky Derby 134 for their generous contribution to the NTRA Charities - Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, as well as Churchill Downs and the owners of Kentucky Derby 134 starters for their assistance in making this donation a reality," said Velazquez, who also serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Jockeys' Guild.  "The industry worked together for the benefit of the industry and a worthy cause.  My fellow riders and I look forward to continuing to work with all segments of the industry to help racing and its charitable efforts, and we hope that everyone who cares about racing will contribute to these deserving causes."

 

Preakness jockeys will donate their NetJets sponsorship money to the Jockey Club Foundation, a charitable trust that provides financial assistance to needy members of the Thoroughbred industry and their families, and the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, which is committed to the advancement of research to enhance the health and soundness of horses of all breeds.

 

For more information or to make a contribution to the NTRA Charities - Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation or The Jockey Club Foundation please visit www.ntracharities.org.

 

The $500,000 check will be presented to disabled jockey and NTRA Charities - Permantly Disabled Jockeys Fund representative Jackie Fires as well as NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop.  Maryann Aarseth/NetJets and Peggy Hendershot/NTRA

The not-so-good news is that the mare Houseboat, who provided the 19-year-old with his first winner, reared up entering the gate banging him solidly in the mouth to make for a bloody winner's circle photo.  However, there is more good news.  Despite three stitches on the inside of his mouth, four more on the outside, and some fractured teeth, the Elk Grove Village teenager plans to ride Saturday.

 

"No problem," said Meier Wednesday, three days after his winning debut.  "My teeth are still a little sore, but it is all part of the game.  Once the gates opened Sunday, I didn't feel a thing.  She relaxed beautifully for me, and once I swung her outside and had that opening, she took off.  I was picking (rivals) off left and right.  By the end of the race I was hand-riding her, and I got so excited everything became kind of a blur.  I can't wait to get back to riding.  This is not going to slow us down one bit.  Now, my Dad and I just need that race with both of us in it."

 

How did the elder Meier react to his son's auspicious debut?

 

"He was very excited for me," said the youngster.  We didn't get to talk much because they took me to the hospital, even though I asked them if they could stitch me up right there.

 

"He was very calm when I saw him in the jocks' room before the race," Meier added, "but they told me he started pacing around after I left."

 

Brandon Meier becomes the first jockey to win at Arlington with his first career mount since Zoe Cadman accomplished the same feat on June 10, 2000. Arlington Park Communications Department

That base mount fee represents a $35 increase and came about despite resistance from some local horsemen, especially the leadership of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.  Chicago jockeys began actively seeking the increase about a year ago at Arlington.  The issue arose again last month at Hawthorne, when racing was delayed on April 25 by almost two hours because of an impasse over the losing mount fee.  Tensions percolated into the start of the Arlington meet, on May 2, but further disruptions to racing so far have been avoided, and the whole situation seems to have calmed.

 

The amount paid by owners to jockeys who don't earn a cut of the purse is not mandated by law in Illinois, a fact that has complicated negotiations.  Frank Kirby, president of the horsemen's association, continues to insist that his organization has no authority to set the rate, a position also taken by the Illinois Racing Board.  The Racing Board, however, asked Arlington stewards to clarify a rule requiring that the fee a jockey will receive be formally set at the time a horse is entered to race.

 

That is part of the system being adopted at Arlington, one in which individual owners or their representatives, namely trainers, must officially contract jockeys at the higher fee.  An owner can refuse to pay, but then must find a rider willing to accept less money, and so far, Chicago jockeys have presented an almost entirely unified front.

 

"As far as I understand, the jock mount fees are negotiable," Kirby said Friday morning.  "If I want to pay a higher one, I would.  If I want to pay a lower one, that's up to me."

 

Once a horseman agrees to pay the higher fee, the horsemen's bookkeeper will make losing-mount payments to jockeys using the new rate.  Jockeys were paid for the first two days of the Arlington meet this week, and received disbursements based on the higher losing-mount fee scale.

 

During opening week, losing-mount payments also awarded jockeys 2 percent of purse money earned by third- and fourth-place finishers, but riders have agreed to forego those payments.  Marcus Hersh-The Daily Racing Form

Last summer during the Arlington Park meeting the Jockeys' Guild filed a lawsuit against the ITHA but it was dropped on the recommendation of Terry Meyocks after he became the organization's national manager.

 

It appeared that the Illinois Racing Borad had mediated a settlement on April 25 after the riders refused to fulfill their commitments, delaying the start of the Hawthorne Race Course program, until an apparent deal was made.

 

But three days later the jockeys were told that ITHA president Frnk Kirby had no authority to make such an agreement without getting the approval of the ITHA membership and some owners refused to honor that day's commitment to up the ante to $75 per mount.

 

"The ITHA can't enter into a contract agreement with an independent contractor," Kirby said.  "The fee is negotiable."

 

Meyocks argues that the $45 fee is inadequate in the current economic climate and is not a realistic compensation for the jockeys' efforts and the risk.

 

"Since 1985 the only raise the riders have gotten was a $5 increase in 2001," Meyocks said. "Prices have gone up.  Health insurance has gone up. Everything has skyrocketed."

 

By Meyocks' calculations, when fees for agents and valets and Jockeys' Guild dues are deducted, jockeys actually are receiving net pay of $27 before taxes rather than the $45.

 

According to Shelley Kalita, the Racing Board's general counsel/director of administration, ITHA leaders told her they are acting on the advice of their legal counsel in refusing to make a blanket agreement.

 

"All we can do is mediate and clarify the exisiting rule (because) a 1972 Illinois Supreme Court case found it to be unconstitutional for the board to determine or set jockey mount fees,"  Kalita said.

 

In hopes of expediting an agreement the Illinois Racing Board has issued a directive putting owners and trainers on notice that the stewards at Arlington will enforce the board rule that reads: "No horse shall be allowed to start for any race and no jockey shall be weighed out until there has been paid or guaranteed a jockey fee."

 

In addition, the board-approved Arlington stall agreement designates trainers as authorized agents of the owners who are empowered to hire a jockey and negotiate and guarantee binding mount fees.  Neil Milbert/Thoroughbred Times

The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands win elevated Desormeaux to lead all North American riders with $,451,800 in purse earnings for the week ended May 6.

 

A Maurice, Louisiana native, Desormeaux won the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (G1) with Real Quiet.  He also rode Fusaichi Pegasus to victory in the Kentucky Derby in 2000.

 

Desormeaux, 38, has called Big Brown the most talented horse he has ridden in an accomplished career that began in 1986 and includes 4,970 North American wins through Tuesday. Desormeaux is unbeaten in three career starts with Big Brown, including a five-length win in the Florida Derby (G1) on March 29 at Gulfstream Park.

 

Desormeaux won the Eclipse Award in '87 as North America's outstanding apprentice rider.  He also won Eclipse Awards in '89 and '92 to become one of three jockeys to earn the honor as an apprentice and journeyman rider. Thoroughbred Times Today

I have come to the conclusion that we cannot regulate and govern ourselves no matter how much we wish we could.  We are too fragmented and too diverse.  We are composed of too many "fiefdoms" and each one is led by a nero-like chieftain who had rather do things his way than help the cause as a whole.

 

How many fiefdoms are there?  You can start with each and every state which has its own racing commission and its own chairman.  Then you have the Jockey Club, the NTRA, the Jockeys' Guild, the HBPA, the TOBA, the Breeders' Cup, the American Horse Council, the AVMA, AAEP, KEEP, the KTA, the TRA and on it goes.  There are dozens of organizations in addition to the states, and getting them all to work toward the same end is like trying to steer a herd of stampeding buffaloes.  It is impossible and cannot be done except in one way and one way alone.

 

The Horse Racing Act of 1978 is the vehicle through which we may succeed.  Each state can be controlled because the federal government has the right to pull the signal if the states do not conform to the regulations.  For instance, if there is a  ban on steroids and in the future a state will not abide by the rule, that state could not broadcast its signal.

 

I have said for years that we must remove drugs and thugs from our game.  In 1960, horses made 11.3 starts per year and in 2007 they made 6.31 starts per year.  This is a dramatic drop of 44 percent and is a startling statistic whcih shows that the breed is becoming softer and weaker.  This leads one to the inescapable conclusion that there will be more frequent and more severe catastrophic injuries which will do us irreparable harm.  It is a vicious cycle.  Drugs must be banned if we are going to survive as a robust breed.

 

Why don't we create a level playing field and do away with drugs?  We must remember that drugs are money to veterinarians.  They convince the trainers who convince the owners.  Once I told a vet not to treat my horses and he responded, "Well Arthur, you want to win races, don't you?"

 

If anyone cares where our ship will end up they would be wise to embrace the philosophy of federal guidelines for excellence and support a movement to clean up this mess through federal legislation.  Barring this control and guidance, our ship will most assuredly be wrecked or dry docked.  Without a rudder, we are lost.  By Arthur Hancock III/TDN

Terry Meyocks, national manager of the Jockeys' Guild, and ITHA president Frank Kirby confirmed on Wednesday that an impasse exists and therefore not all of the riders are getting the raise from $45 to $75 per mount the riders believed was part of the agreement.

 

That afternoon at Hawthorne Race Course the jockeys refused to fulfill their commitments, delaying the start of the program until a deal was reached.

 

But three days later the jockeys were told Kirby had no authority to make a deal without getting approval of the ITHA membership and some owners refused to honor that day's commitment by their trainers to pay $75 per mount.

 

"We're about in the same place we were," Kirby confirmed.  "The ITHA can't enter into a contract agreement with an independent contractor.  The fee is negotiable."

 

Meyocks contends the $45 fee is inadequate in the current economic climate and isn't realistic compensation for the jockeys' efforts and the risk.

 

"Since 1985 the only raise the riders have gotten was a $5 increase in 2001," Meyocks said.  "Prices have gone up.  Health insurance has gone up.  Everything has skyrocketed."

 

He cited the case of a typical jockey who isn't among the track leaders and rides only three mounts per day.  If all three fail to finish first, second or third, the rider's only compensation is $135.  Of this amount, $33.75 (25 percent) goes to the jockey's agent, $6.75 (5 percent) goes to valet and, if the jockey is a Guild member, $12 goes to the Guild, leaving net pay of approximately $82.50 (or $27.50 per race) before taxes.

 

The ITHA is saying they need membership approval but in New York the NYTHA, which is run by the same organization, just needed the approval of its board of directors when it increased all mount fees (at least) $100, except in one category where it's $105," Meyocks said.

 

"When we raced at Hawthrone, (track president) Tim Carey and (general manager) Jim Miller were very supportive and now at Arlington Park so are (president) Roy Arnold and (vice-president) Kevin Greely.  The Illinois Racing Board has been very supportive.  Everybody has been very supportive except for the leadership of the horsemen's group.  We've been negotiating in good faith and nothing has happened."

 

According to Shelley Kalita, the Illinois Racing Board's general counsel/director of administration, ITHA leaders told her they are acting on the advice of legal counsel in refusing to make a blanket agreement.

 

"All we can do is mediate and clarify the existing rule (because) a 1972 Illinois Supreme Court case found it to be unconstitutional for the board to determine or set jockey mount fees," said Kalita.

 

In hopes of expediting an agreement the Racing Board has issued a directive indicating the stewards will enforce the rule that reads:  "No horse shall be allowed to start for any race and no jockey shall be weighed out until there has been paid or guaranteed a jockey fee."

 

Moreover, pursuant to the board-approved Arlington stall agreement, trainers are designated as authorized agents of the horses' owners and have the authority to hire a jockey and negotiate and guarantee mount fees.  Neil Milbert/Chicago Tribune

Lucas estimated he rode about 1,500 winners, many for Central Kentucky trainer Herb K. Stevens, for whom he started riding in the early 1950s.

 

"He was a good rider," Stevens said from Versailles, Kentucky home.  "We were together about 15 years." 

 

When Lucas won six races from seven rides August 10, 1962, at River Downs, three of the winners were trained by Stevens.

 

Born in Union County, Kentucky, Lucas grew up around horses.  His father, who died when his son was eight, rode horses at the local fairs.

 

Lucas, who didn't become interested in becoming a jockey until his early 20s, won several riding titles at River Downs in the late 1950s and early '60s.  He also rode in Kentucky and in Florida during the winter.  His biggest win came in the 1963 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland on Secret Veil.

 

Like most jockeys, Lucas experienced his share of memorable rides.

 

"I was making a move going down the backside when a rabbit suddenly popped up and was running with the horses for about 100 yards," he said about a race at River Downs.  "All of a sudden, he cut in front of my horse and frightened him. I'll never forget the look on the trainer's face when he asked me what happened, and I told him I was shut off by a rabbit."

 

After retiring in 1966, Lucas started training.  He conditioned two stakes winners.

 

Lucas' survivors include a nephew. Blood-Horse.com