NEWS
Hawthorne jockeys set own fees for losing mounts
Posted: Saturday, April 26, 2008 4:52 PM
TERRY MEYOCKS
Photo by Z
by Jeff Apel
Jockeys at Hawthorne Race Course began setting their own fees for losing mounts on Friday after being unable to reach an agreement with the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.
Jockeys’ Guild National Manager Terry Meyocks said the riders decided to give themselves a pay increase during a meeting that delayed the start of Friday’s first race at Hawthorne by approximately two hours. Jockeys were previously paid a minimum of $45 for mounts that finish worse than third, a fee that was set in 2001.
The new pay scale will apply to Hawthorne and Arlington Park, which opens its 96-day meet on May 2.
“They just want to be fairly compensated,” Meyocks said. “They got an increase back in 2001—a modest increase of $5. Before that, it was in the 1980s when they got an increase.”
Meyocks said a “vast majority” of Hawthorne’s riders are now setting their own mount fees, which he expects will be around $75 for a race with a $10,000 purse. Earlie Fires, a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, began setting his own fee last year, charging $100 per losing mount.
Jockey fees for losing mounts vary from state to state. Meyocks said New York raised its jockey fee to $100 for losing mounts on April 2.
Meyocks was not present at Friday’s meeting, which involved the jockeys and representatives from the Guild and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Trainer Frank Kirby, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, declined to comment on the organization’s opposition to the mount fee increase.
Meyocks said horsemen were being made aware of the change in mount fees on Friday and Saturday.
“They’re notifying the horsemen’s bookkeeper and their agents are notifying their trainers,” Meyocks said. “I know Hawthorne has reached out to every trainer in the race and notified what their compensation is going to be.”
Meyocks said he is not sure if the jockeys and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association will resume negotiations in the future.
Fires and the Jockeys’ Guild filed a class-action lawsuit last June against Kirby and approximately 300 owners and trainers who raced horses at Arlington. The lawsuit alleged that Kirby and fellow owners and trainers had “taken an active part in the conspiracy to deprive jockeys…of their ability to establish their own fees for engaging in riding.”
The lawsuit also asked that losing mount fees for riders at Arlington be doubled
“We dropped the lawsuit last October and tried to work together,” Meyocks said. “We talked about working together on health insurance for the riders as well as workers [compensation] which would be beneficial for the horsemen as well as the riders. There have been no discussions.”
Jeff Apel is Thoroughbred Times assistant daily news editor
