Mount fee hike seems to be holding.

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