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Jockeys’ Insurance Archive

Another Call for Dr. G’s Removal

A group of permanently disabled Jockeys’ Guild members, troubled by the disappearance of the disabled jockeys’ fund and the unsatisfactory answers given by Guild officials to questions about the organization’s management, have sent an open letter to the Guild’s board of directors calling for the removal of president Wayne Gertmenian and the reinstatement of former manager John Giovanni in his stead:

Dr. Gertmenian has … failed to prove himself as a man who could be trusted to do what’s best for the Guild … We badly need a leader who understands and is familiar with the business of the Jockeys’ Guild to lead us through this crisis, to put the Guild back on track and salvage what is left of our organization.

An emergency meeting of the Guild Senate to discuss management has been scheduled for November 15 and more than 200 jockeys across the country have signed petitions calling for a change in leadership. Asked if he had any intention of stepping down, Gertmenian said, “I promised everybody as I went around the country the heat would fall on my head and I wouldn’t quit.” How noble.

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 11, 2005

House Schedules Second Hearing

The congressional subcommittee investigating jockeys’ insurance has scheduled a second hearing on the issue for November 17. The witness list has not been finalized yet. The first hearing was held on October 18 and included testimony from jockeys and Jockeys’ Guild officials, who answered questions about the organization’s finances and the 2002 lapse of a catastrophic insurance policy.

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 4, 2005

Guild Senate Calls Meeting

Jockeys’ Guild president Wayne Gertmenian may find himself out of a job soon. In response to last month’s congressional hearing into the issue of catastrophic insurance for jockeys and the concerns raised then regarding the Guild’s management, the Guild Senate has called an emergency meeting on November 15 to discuss possible leadership changes. “Our concern is with the entire Guild management, but foremost on our mind will be the president,” said Guild senator and jockey Jon Court.

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 2, 2005

Guild Investigates Gertmenian

The Daily Racing Form reports that the Jockeys’ Guild has begun an investigation into the credentials of its president, Dr. Wayne Gertmenian, as well the payments made by the Guild to Gertmenian’s consulting company, Matrix Capital Associates. “We want to make sure we can answer all the questions that our members have,” said Guild treasurer Jeff Johnston.
Related commentary from Ray Paulick: “Wayne Gertmenian, the president and CEO of the Jockeys’ Guild, is a bully who finally met his match in the halls of Congress.”

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on October 27, 2005

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