JC / Railbird

Jockeys’ Insurance Archive

The Other Scandal

All’s been quiet on the jockeys’ insurance front for a few weeks now. Whatever happened to the committee that was supposed to offer recommendations on resolving the situation by the end of the year?
Related: The Jockeys’ Guild has agreed to allow the California Horse Racing Board to conduct a limited audit and examine its books. (Daily Racing Form)
Also: The Guild may have some competition in California. A group of jockeys, led by Ron Warren Jr., concerned about the Guild’s management, have formed their own organization to represent riders in the state. (Sports Business Journal)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on February 1, 2005

What Jockeys Want

“While the Thoroughbred Racing Associations awaits an answer from the Jockeys’ Guild about how the $2.2-million in annual payments meant for catastrophic injury insurance has been spent, the Guild has issued a sweeping list of demands from the tracks … $2-million a month from the TRA, and corresponding amounts from tracks that are not members of the organization, for media rights … Provision by the tracks of medical insurance of at least $1-million per accident in states without workers’ compensation … Guaranteed riding fees of 1% of the average purse paid … Educational programs at each track in English and Spanish … Guaranteed provision of a masseuse, a board certified physician, and X-ray equipment at each track … Veto power over any jockey’s decision to wear logos or advertisement on his or her pants …. Recognition of the Guild as “the exclusive labor representative of all jockeys” at each track.” In exhange for meeting these demands, the Guild promises that it will not “cause, authorize, participate in, sanction, or encourage any strike or work stoppage for any reason except safety.” (Thoroughbred Times)

Posted in Jockeys' Insurance on December 21, 2004

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