Jockeys’ Guild Reinstates Benefits for Monmouth Riders

With the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) last week voting to rescind the whip ban, which had been in place at Monmouth Park since the 2021 season, the Jockeys' Guild Board of Directors has voted to reinstate benefits to its members who choose to ride at Monmouth in 2022. The Guild had not been covering insurance policies for Monmouth riders since July 1. New Jersey was the only state in the country where whipping was banned.

The NJRC had adopted Monmouth's request for a “House Rule,” allowing riders to utilize the riding crop in an overhand fashion for six times in a race, though not more than two times in succession without a pause. The House Rule is in line with the Use of Riding Crop Regulation established by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which is set to supersede regulations put in place by state racing commissions this summer.

“While the Monmouth Park House Rule for the riding crop addresses our safety concerns, the decision by the NJRC to implement the House Rule's more extreme penalties than those called for under the HISA Riding Crop Rules are a concern,” said Terry Meyocks, President and CEO of the Jockeys' Guild. “Members should be aware of these excessive penalties should they choose to ride at Monmouth Park.”

The 2022 Monmouth meet begins May 7.

The post Jockeys’ Guild Reinstates Benefits for Monmouth Riders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Monmouth Kicks Off New Season

OCEANPORT, NJ-Every year, opening day at Monmouth Park marks the unofficial start of the summer season on the Jersey Shore. This year, it seems, Mother Nature didn't get the memo. Fans on-hand for Friday's card braved temps in the mid-50's and steady rain that intensified as the twilight card wore on. Among the casualties, the day's feature–the Jersey Derby–was taken off the turf, losing a pair of 3-year-olds in the process, however, the show marched on resolutely. At the conclusion of the six-race card, total handle was $1,528,236, while the on-track figure was $125,956. In 2020, Monmouth's opening day, which was delayed until July 3 because of the pandemic, drew total handle of $3,422,830, with $159,350 handled on track.

“I come out for opening day every year,” said a Monmouth regular. “Rain or shine, I'm here. “It's a decent crowd considering the weather. We usually love to go to the picnic area. You can bring family and friends and enjoy a day of racing. It's just a wonderful place.”

Like all other racing venues across the nation, Monmouth eagerly welcomed the new season following a forgettable 2020 largely shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the excitement to be back, a major topic of discussion Friday was the recently announced restriction on whip use which was met by mixed reactions from local horsemen.

“It's the elephant in the room,” said trainer Kelly Breen, who won the day's feature with Mr. Amore Stable It's A Gamble (English Channel). “It's not what I envisioned in horse racing.”

Breen, who has been coming to the Jersey oval since 1986, believes the new rule was adopted without including the people it affects the most, the horsemen.

“I truly believe it's changing the whole dynamic of a race. After watching the first couple of races here, I still really don't know what to expect. I'm not sure what the jockey can do. The times and pace for the first two races were slow. I believe the use of the crop changes the way a race is run.”

Coming into this season's meeting, Breen was quick to point out a significant positive–purses. However, he admitted the pace at which the rule was enacted caught many unaware.

“We really have to adapt quickly,” he said. “But I'm learning. I'm trying to adapt like everyone else. That's the best we can do.”

Adding his own insight from a rider's perspective, Jose Ferrer appeared saddened by the latest change in whip rules.

“It's a shame,” he said. “I feel we can't really communicate with the horse as well.”

He continued, “Many people are still confused about the whip. They think it's a big piece of metal, and it hurts the animal. It's made out of rubber and it's cushioned inside. It's not like it was back in the day. It's plastic. They don't realize we spend every day and night with these animals. We love them, why would we want to hurt them?”

Ferrer was one of several jockeys who didn't carry a whip at all in any of the races Friday.

“I have been riding with the whip for 37 years, I'm worried I am going to get fired up and give them that wake-up call, like I am used to doing all these years,” he said. “But that wake-up call will cost me a suspension and a fine–$500 and a five-day suspension. The fine is harsh. It's so new for us, so we just have to get used to it. I don't want to risk making a mistake.”

Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone, who serves as an assistant to Phil Antonacci, offered a different perspective to the new whip rule facing her contemporary colleagues.

“It is nice to see the racing at Monmouth go so smooth and safe,” she said. “Jockeys look so focused and strong riding with their beautiful hand rides.”

Local horseman Pat McBurney also offered a slightly different take on the new season and its changes.

“I'm always happy to be back at Monmouth Park, and the lessening of the COVID restrictions should make for a good season,” he said. “The major controversy that everyone is talking about is the new whip rule. Every State has a whip rule, it's just our racing commissioner just happened to come up with the strictest whip rule. Having spoken to many of the jockeys before we even took entries, most of them said they'll give it a try, and if they have a problem, I'm sure the Racing Commission and the horsemen will be willing to sit down and talk about it. The first few races looked good finishing, so we just have to see how it progresses.”

“The morning of entries, I was with Jose Ferrer and a bunch of other jockeys and we spoke to the Stewards,” he continued. “They laid out what would be acceptable. They said they wouldn't just slap a fine on them and would talk to them after a race to see why they used a whip if it comes to that. It looks like everyone is working together to see how this is going to work out.”

And while most were happy to return to the seaside oval following a tough year, one face was noticeably missing from this season's new season at Monmouth.

“John Forbes was such fixture at Monmouth,” McBurney admitted. “Especially for me, I'm used to just picking up the phone and talking to him and bouncing ideas off of him. If I had a problem with a racehorse or with an owner, without having him to talk about it has been a little bit difficult. He's very missed.”

However, despite all the recent changes causing a stir at the moment, the things that brings the fans back season after season remains unchanged.

“I love everything about Monmouth, the architecture, the feel of it,” summed up a Monmouth racegoer. “The feeling you get when you walk in the gates. That sense of excitement is palpable. It's just a great get together.”

The post Monmouth Kicks Off New Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Monmouth Opening Day: 45 Horses, 14 Jockeys, No Whipping & Lots of Controversy

by T.D. Thornton, Bill Finley & Sue Finley

Amid concerns that jockeys would either be protesting Monmouth Park's May 28 opening-day program or not riding at all during the meet because of their concerns over a new state rule that prohibits whipping outside of emergency safety usage, it took until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for Friday's overnight at Monmouth Park to be released, with six races drawing 45 entrants ridden by 14 jockeys.

Now that Friday's opening day program appears to be a “go,” the looming larger question is what will the jockey colony and field sizes look like in the near future as Monmouth embarks upon a season under a figurative microscope with the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) mandating the most stringent anti-whipping rules on the continent.

Or, put another way, was the light riding colony turnout in the entries just a one-day act of protest, or a sign of a stressful summer to come at the Jersey shore?

“While I understand the jockeys' frustration with the new whip rule and I appreciate the jockeys' concerns that they're putting their lives at risk…the whip rule was created by the New Jersey Racing Commission. It is the law in New Jersey, and there's nothing that Monmouth Park can do about it,” Dennis Drazin, the CEO of the management company that operates the track, told TDN.

“Having said that, I am pleased that we were able to draw the card and get jockeys who were willing to ride to that we can put on the show and not disappoint the public and not create a significant hardship to Monmouth Park by having a financial loss,” Drazin said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Drazin said that he was concerned that certain veteran riders and perhaps even The Jockeys' Guild were pressuring jockeys not to ride. He said there would be “repercussions” if riders or Guild representatives tried to stage a coordinated job action.

Terence Meyocks, the president and chief executive officer of the Jockeys' Guild, told TDN after the overnight came out that the Guild played no role in trying to influence riders on whether or not to accept Monmouth mounts.

“The Guild's position hasn't changed. The rule is dangerous. We've maintained all along that it's not safe for the horses and riders,” Meyocks said. “We have not told one jock [whether to ride at Monmouth or not]. The jocks have made their own opinions whether to ride or not.

“Now, I know a number of riders that felt pressured by the track who decided to ride,” Meyocks continued. “They're willing to risk their lives. Other jocks are just concerned about their safety. We still think it's in the best interest of everybody–the racing commission the track, the horsemen, the owners, the trainers, the jocks, the betting public–to get this rule changed where it's safe and we don't have to worry about litigation.”

The Monmouth colony is expected to get a boost from several riders (Nik Juarez and Ferrin Peterson) who are currently sitting out suspensions, but are expected to accept mounts in New Jersey. Leading rider Paco Lopez will ride at Gulfstream Park on Friday. Then he has to serve an upcoming suspension and accept mounts that have been lined up at Delaware Park and Belmont Park, his agent, Cory Moran, told TDN. A decision on whether to ride at Monmouth will be made after that.

Drazin said he knows Monmouth's top all-time rider, Joe Bravo, is personally committed to sitting out the meet in protest of the strict new whipping regulations, and Drazin said he doesn't expect that decision to change.

But beyond that, Drazin said, “We would expect more jockeys to be willing to ride. I think that jockeys chose the wrong methodology to try and boycott Monmouth Park because of a rule that Monmouth Park did not create. And unfortunately, we had all this controversy, which puts a little bit of a damper on opening day and getting excited for the meet.

“If they're not going to ride [in New Jersey], they probably should choose where they're going to ride and go there instead of trying to get other jockeys not to ride and approaching trainers and asking them not to enter,” Drazin said.

“Look, if a jockey does not want to ride because of the rule and decides to go elsewhere, we can't stop them,” Drazin said. “But jockeys trying to–call it anything you want–set a boycott and engage in conduct that is detrimental to racing could end up having those jockeys get in a lot of trouble, which we certainly did not want to happen.”

Earlier on Tuesday Drazin had explained to TDN how the NJRC could enforce a rule that involves “conduct detrimental to racing,” although it is unclear exactly how or if that regulation pertains to not accepting mounts over a principled boycott.

Also earlier on Tuesday, Drazin had outlined three in-house possibilities that were under consideration for how Monmouth could penalize (or incentivize) riders who were deemed uncooperative or disruptive: 1) A meet-long ban for any rider who boycotted opening day; 2) A civil lawsuit against the Guild and/or individual jockeys to try and recoup lost handle revenue, or 3) Implementing a meet-long jockey-title bonus that would not be available to any riders who chose not to ride on opening day.

But after the overnight came out, Drazin told TDN he was rethinking those options.

“Given that we're able to put the races on and not have to shut Monmouth Park down, I don't probably contemplate there will be a civil lawsuit seeking damages. We'd rather get along with the jocks. And as far as the racing commission taking any action against anybody, that's up to the racing commission. I can't speak for that. But whatever policy [racing secretary] John Heims put in place as to jockeys who refuse to ride will probably stay intact.”

Both Drazin and Meyocks were in agreement on one issue: That New Jersey's controversial whip rule could become a moot point about a year from now when federal oversight mandated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is up and running and a uniform, nationwide whipping rule possibly gets put into effect.

The post Monmouth Opening Day: 45 Horses, 14 Jockeys, No Whipping & Lots of Controversy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights