A Less Than Graceful Exit
The Jockeys’ Guild fired president Wayne Gertmenian following an emergency meeting of the Guild Senate on Tuesday, and the disgraced professor didn’t take his dismissal well. It was reported earlier this week that Gertmenian and similarly ousted Guild vice president Albert Fiss scuffled with jockeys at the Guild’s offices on Tuesday and now there are allegations that Gertmenian wrote checks totaling $217,000 to himself and other “employees” of his consulting company, Matrix Capital Associates, on the same day that he was fired, despite a hold that had been placed on checks larger than $200 drawn on the Guild account. No charges have been filed in Tuesday’s altercation, but police are investigating the checks. “It may be embezzlement or it may be something they were entitled to,” said Monrovia police lieutenant Richard Wagnon. Given that Gertmenian testified in the first congressional hearing on jockeys’ insurance held in October that he was the only employee of Matrix, which was contracted to manage the Guild, it’s difficult to imagine how the apparent money-grab could be construed as a legitimate business act.
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The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held its second hearing on jockeys’ insurance on Thursday and took testimony from racetrack operators and horsemen on the issue. Representative Ed Whitfield, who chaired the hearing, said federal legislation could be necessary to impose standard safety and insurance requirements across the industry. “A lot of interest groups do not want their turf touched, … [but] there are a lot of strong arguments for some uniformity and for some federal oversight and involvement,” said Whitfield. Racing executives disagree: “Trying to get a one-size-fits-all solution could be damaging,” said TRA vice president Christopher Scherf.
