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Jockeys’ Insurance Archive

All Valid

Jockeys’ Guild president L. Wayne Gertmenian publicly answered questions for the first time about his qualifications, sort of: “Gertmenian’s resume says that he was chief detente negotiator in Moscow and an emissary to Tehran during the Nixon and Ford administrations. It also says that Gertmenian was a board member of the Far East Foundation and West Coast Bancorp. None of those claims could be substantiated by official archivists at the Nixon and Ford libraries or by the Far East Foundation and West Coast Bancorp.
“When asked on Thursday to explain the discrepancies, Gertmenian said, ‘It’s all valid.’ When asked why the records did not indicate that the positions in the Nixon and Ford administration even existed, he repeated, “It’s all valid,” and added, ‘Leave it at that.'” Gertmenian, who is among those pressing tracks for increased insurance coverage for jockeys, has become a polarizing figure in the industry as questions about his management of the Guild and professional experience have been raised. (Daily Racing Form)
Related: “Tracks prepared for possible jockey strike on Sunday” (Thoroughbred Times)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on December 11, 2004

Rider Lives Insurance Turmoil

“Horses were Remi Gunn’s life, and they were almost her death.” A mid-race accident at Ellis Park in 2003 not only left Gunn paralyzed, but destitute. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on December 5, 2004

Churchill Demands Guild Account for Funds

“Churchill Downs Inc. yesterday asked the national Jockeys’ Guild to account for $1.25 million its racetracks have given the riders’ organization over the past three years. In a letter to L. Wayne Gertmenian, the guild’s president and chief executive since 2001, Churchill Downs racetrack President Steve Sexton requested that the guild’s response be certified by an independent accountant and received by Tuesday.” (Courier-Journal)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on December 3, 2004

Jockeys’ Fund Likely to Dissolve

“The Disabled Jockeys’ Fund, which in 2003 provided more than $371,000 in financial assistance to permanently and temporarily injured riders, is set to dissolve at the end of the year, leaving questions of how the Jockeys’ Guild will fulfill one of its core missions to support disabled riders.” (Thoroughbred Times)
Related: Jockeys’ Guild president Dr. L. Wayne Gertmenian offers up a bizarre commentary on last month’s incident at Churchill Downs — or, as he dubs it, “Churchill Plantation” — in which jockey Shane Sellers was escorted off the grounds. “I was in a time warp. It was Macon, Georgia and Selma, Alabama thirty years ago. I had hoped the days of Master and Slave were over.” (Jockeys’ Guild)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on December 1, 2004

Lawsuit Demands Audit

Ousted Jockeys’ Guild treasurer Eddie King Jr. has filed a lawsuit demanding an audit of the organization’s finances. Among other things, the suit gives some insight into Guild president Wayne Gertmenian’s fundraising strategy: “Dr. Gertmenian, emphasizing the fact that he had a Ph.D., and that Mr. King had a limited educational background, informed Mr. King that he wished to divest the fund of $1-million to create the illusion that the fund was in financial trouble, thereby encouraging donations from wealthy benefactors of the fund.” (Thoroughbred Times)
Related: “Kent Desormeaux, a board member of the Jockeys’ Guild, said Tuesday that he has begun an inquiry into the qualifications of the organization’s president, L. Wayne Gertmenian.” (Daily Racing Form)
Also: “The management company that represents jockey Jerry Bailey sent a cease and desist letter to Jockeys’ Guild president Dr. Wayne Gertmenian and Guild vice president Albert Fiss Nov. 19. The letter requested they stop accusing Bailey of having played a role in canceling insurance policies that benefited jockeys.” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 24, 2004

This’ll Be Resolved Soon

The panel formed by the NTRA in response to the jockeys’ insurance crisis met for the first time on Monday and appointed a six-member committee to come up with recommendations for providing riders with “adequate and affordable” coverage. (Daily Racing Form)
More: “Jockey-insurance meeting called productive” (Courier-Journal)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 23, 2004

Questions, Questions

Jockey Guild president L. Wayne Gertmenian comes under scrutiny, and the findings don’t look good for him or the Guild: “A background check by Daily Racing Form suggests there is little or no evidence that Gertmenian served in the important government posts he described. Claims of being a radio talk show host and author appear to be supported only by self-published work and purchased broadcast time. Descriptions of positions on some company boards in the resume appear to be inaccurate, according to company filings or representatives of the businesses themselves.”
Related: “A top official with the Jockeys’ Guild has questioned the purpose of a new task force on insurance and indicated a resolution wouldn’t be reached until the industry recognizes it must deal with Dr. Wayne Gertmenian.” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 20, 2004

Jumping at the Chance

“Rodney Trader has ridden races for 20 of his 36 years. But when he came to Kentucky this spring, it was as an exercise rider — someone who gets horses ready in the morning for someone else to ride in the afternoon.
“Yet horse racing is a game based on twists and unexpected turns. And last week, with Churchill embroiled in a controversy over accident insurance for jockeys, Trader began doing something he’d never experienced before: He rode in races under the shadow of the fabled Twin Spires.
“Trader can be called a replacement rider. And he sounds mystified that 14 jockeys would have refused to ride, especially given purses so lucrative a jockey can make as much on losing mounts as an exercise rider makes.” (Courier-Journal)
Related: “The inherent danger of an occupation does not mitigate the fact that jockeys are independent contractors without allegiance or contractual obligation. Life does not come with all expenses paid and this is the life they have chosen,” writes Paul Moran (Newsday); Matt Graves says, “Insurance for jockeys needs boost” (Times Union); and “Jockeys differ on walkout strategy” (Indy Star).

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 18, 2004

More and More Evident

Frustrated and anxious over the issue of adequate insurance coverage, “Many jockeys are now venting their anger toward racetrack officials or the TRA,” writes Ray Paulick. But their ire may be misdirected: “It’s becoming more and more evident to me that the leadership of the Jockeys’ Guild may have hung the organization’s own members out to dry.” (Blood-Horse)
Related: “Questions about Guild cash” (Daily Racing Form)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 17, 2004

Dispute Developments

The 32-member NTRA panel on jockey insurance has been named. (Thoroughbred Times)
Also: “Eddie King, a rider based in New Jersey, said on Monday that he was removed as treasurer of the Jockeys’ Guild and expelled from the organization on Nov. 7 after he persisted in asking questions about the Guild’s finances.” The Guild management, which allowed a $1 million catastrophic insurance policy purchased for jockeys to lapse in 2002, faces scrutiny and calls for audits from several quarters as the issue of jockey insurance roils on. (Daily Racing Form)
Related: The insurance dispute is a “black eye” for the sport. (Pasadena Star-News)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on November 16, 2004