Terry Meyocks | Horse Racing Free Tips

Guild: Insurance Snafu Settled, Lone Star a ‘Go’ for Saturday

Lone Star Park appears ready to resume racing on Saturday, July 16, after the Thursday and Friday programs this week had to be scrapped over jockeys' concerns that a million-dollar insurance policy secured by the track was not sufficient to provide specialized medical care in the event of on-track accidents.

Terry Meyocks, the president and chief executive officer of the Jockeys' Guild, confirmed to TDN shortly after 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday that, “We're good to go on Saturday. We got the assurances that the jocks will be comfortable with.”

Issues over the insurance policy at Lone Star first surfaced after jockey Carlos Montalvo suffered head injuries there in a July 4 racing spill.

A Paulick Report story earlier this week stated that Montalvo claimed he was unable to find a medical specialist willing to honor the accident policy purchased by Lone Star's parent company, Global Gaming, even though that policy is nearly identical to others around the nation that do provide sufficient coverage. The issue reportedly had to do with surgeons and other doctors wanting to get paid up-front rather than waiting for insurance claims to be processed.

When the Lone Star riding colony couldn't ascertain that the policy would provide sufficient coverage moving forward, they opted as a group not to ride the Thursday, July 14, races. Track management attempted to work with the insurance underwriter on Friday to rectify the situation, but when that didn't happen by late afternoon, Lone Star itself called off the July 15 program.

Asked what fundamental changes were made to satisfy the jockeys that they would get proper care, Meyocks declined the opportunity to elaborate.

“I think we're going to keep that to ourselves. But the jocks are comfortable with it,” Meyocks said.

“Lone Star has done everything they can to work with and correct the situation,” Meyocks said. “It's just one of those situations that maybe the system needs to be looked at and further explained. But we haven't had this situation anywhere else, and I don't know if it's just timing, or whatever. But we got it corrected, and hopefully it will be a positive [development] for the future that we can take nationwide, which is what we've been talking about for the last four or five years.”

Although Lone Star itself had yet to make an official announcement in time for the deadline for this story, it appears as if Saturday's “Summer Turf Festival” and Sunday's “Stars of Texas” programs featuring nine total stakes will go as scheduled, with post times both days at noon Eastern.

That's welcome news to Lone Star horse people, who had already been reeling in the aftermath of a Texas Racing Commission decision not to comply with the July 1 Horse Racing and Integrity Safety Act (HISA) rules activation.

That decision not to align with HISA put Texas out of compliance with new interstate simulcasting requirements that HISA is using as a cudgel of compliance. So the commission then had to order that the signal from the state's tracks could not be exported out of state and that advance deposit wagering companies could not take betting on Texas races.

Trainer Karl Broberg, a perennial leader at Lone Star and a resident of Texas, had 10 horses entered at Lone Star on the combined Thursday and Friday programs. None of them got to race because of the insurance uncertainty.

“This is a no-win situation for me,” Broberg told TDN. “I'm obviously disgusted that it came to this. My guess is that it probably could have been handled better by both sides. But in light of what Texas horsemen have already been dealing with, with regard to such an uncertain future with HISA and how they plan on dealing with it going forward, this is pretty painful.

“But by the same token, I do feel bad [about] the insurance and medical care that Montalvo received,” Broberg said. “It sure seems like there were some failures in getting him in at the right hospital, where if that had been handled correctly from the beginning, none of this probably transpires.”

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New Jersey Racing Commission Rescinds Whip Ban

Monmouth Park jockeys will once again be allowed to use their whips to encourage their mounts when the meet kicks off May 7.

The change was made during a special hearing held Friday by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which voted to rescind rules that were put in place prior to the 2021 Monmouth meeting that allowed whipping only in cases where it was needed for safety reasons. New Jersey was the only state in the country where whipping was banned.

Monmouth's whipping rules were set to change July 1, when the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) goes into effect. At that time, HISA rules will replace state racing commission rules throughout the country and the HISA whip rules allow for six overhand strikes. In addition, jockeys may tap the horse on the shoulder unlimited times if both their hands are on the reins.

Monmouth management went to the racing commission and asked it to overturn the whipping ban, arguing that it did not make sense to have the rules change in the middle of the meet.

The commission agreed, voting by a 5-1 margin to go with the HISA rules starting with opening day. Lawrence DeMarzo was the only commissioner not to vote to end the whipping ban.

“This is better than it was,” said Terry Meyocks, the president of the Jockeys' Guild, which had been staunchly against the whip ban, arguing that it raised safety concerns for the riders. “It's a safety issue. It's not subjective. They have to take into consideration what the jocks have been saying.”

As part of its argument, Monmouth cited handle figures for the 2021 meet in which daily average handle fell by 17.13%, which raised concern that some bettors stayed away from Monmouth because they weren't comfortable with the new rules.

To enforce the HISA whipping rules, Monmouth will establish a three-person committee of racing officials who will review races to make sure the jockeys are in compliance. If they are not, the penalties will be severe. First-time violators will forfeit their share of the purse, will be fined $500 and receive a three-day suspension. Second-time offenders will lose the purse money, be fined $2,500 and suspended for seven days. Anyone violating the rule a third time will lose the purse money, be fined $5,000 and banned for the remainder of the meet.

It was revealed during the hearing that the racing commission received more than 80 telephone calls asking it to keep the whip ban in place. Many of the callers told the commission they received texts or emails from PETA asking them to call the commission.

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Jockeys Across America To Honor Late Miguel Mena This Saturday

In memory of jockey Jose Miguel Mena and to support his family, jockeys at racetracks around the country on Saturday, Nov. 13, will be wearing black armbands emblazoned with his nickname, “Cholo.”

Mena was tragically killed in a vehicular accident in Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 31, 2021.

“Miguel was a longtime member of the Jockeys' Guild and a valued member of each and every jockey colony where he rode,” said Jockeys' Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks. “We hope this show of support and affection will bring some comfort to his immediate family, his wife April and daughters Naelah and Montserret as well as his many friends throughout the racing industry.”

Jockeys Jose and Irad Ortiz also honored Mena at last weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships, emulating his signature winning pose when crossing the wire.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. honors late jockey Miguel Mena as he crosses the wire first in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with Life Is Good

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Three Jockeys Get $11K in Total Fines for BC Whip Violations

Jockeys Florent Geroux and E. T. Baird were fined $5,000 each by the stewards at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for exceeding the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)'s six-strikes-per-race limit on their mounts in Breeders' Cup races.

In addition, jockey Tom Eaves got fined $1,000 for raising his whip above shoulder level prior to a strike.

All of those actions were deemed to be in violation of CHRB Rule 1688, which mandates six-strike, underhand-only, no-more-than-two-hits-in succession whipping with crops that are designed to deliver lower-impact blows.

The two $5,000 fines are the highest levied for whipping infractions at any CHRB-sanctioned track since the more humane whip rules went into effect in the state in 2020.

In fact, they are believed to be the highest fines levied in a Thoroughbred race in North America since the advent of stricter whipping rules in many jurisdictions over the past two years.

Although the rulings posted on the CHRB's website did not specify the exact number of strikes administered by each jockey, Daily Racing Form has quoted the Del Mar stewards as saying Geroux delivered seven hits and Baird nine.

Terry Meyocks, the president and chief executive officer of the Jockeys' Guild, told TDN via phone Monday morning that he believed the fines were excessive and provided another example of why the sport in North America needs a uniform whipping rule.

“Flo [Geroux] has been riding basically the last 14 years. He's a well-respected rider and very accomplished. And then going over [the strike limit by one hit] it's a $5,000 fine? I just think it's over the top,” Meyocks said. “I don't think it's in [anybody's] interest to fine a jock $5,000 for going over the limit once.

“E.T. Baird, he's been riding since 1985, so that's 36 years. He comes to California [to ride occasionally], but still, you just can't change overnight what you've been doing for 36 years. And there's no warning and it's a $5,000 fine?”

With respect to the British-based Eaves, Meyocks said, “You've got to take into consideration European riders. How they ride, it's totally different than the America riders, their style. Going over [the shoulder] and he got fined? It's just [not] common sense here.”

Geroux finished second, beaten 5 1/4 lengths, on Juju's Map (Liam's Map) in the Nov. 5 GI Juvenile Fillies.

Baird rode One Timer (Trappe Shot) to a ninth-place finish in Friday's GII Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Eaves was aboard Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead), the defending victress in the GI Turf Sprint. On Nov. 6 she finished eighth in that same race. Eaves has ridden Glass Slippers in 19 of the mare's 20 lifetime races dating to 2018.

The penalization part of Rule 1688 reads: “During a race, if a jockey rides in a manner contrary to this rule, the stewards shall impose a minimum fine of $500. A greater fine or a minimum of three suspension days, or both, can be imposed, if, in the opinion of the stewards, the violation is egregious or intentional.”

Geroux took to Twitter Monday morning, writing a post that seemed to indicate he didn't realize the monetary penalty could be so high.

“I would gladly pay the fine the stewards gave me over the weekend if [jockeys] knew what the fines were going to be,” Geroux stated.

But the Del Mar stewards had made it a point to meet with the riders just prior to the Breeders' Cup to explain Rule 1688 and how they would be enforcing it. And according to Meyocks, the stewards did discuss how high the fines could be.

“I wasn't there, but I think [the stewards] were talking there was much more [in dollar amount] that they could go up to. I heard a number that could be a lot higher.”

When TDN asked Meyocks if he believed that discussion constituted fair warning about the potentially high fines, he said, “Yes. But again, the problem I have with the stewards [meeting with jockeys] at any racetrack [is] all the jocks aren't there at the same time…. That's why it's important to have one rule throughout the United States that's in the best interest of the game.”

In a separate ruling, Geroux was fined $100 for missing the Saturday morning film review that included his Friday infraction.

A CHRB spokesperson said that as of Monday afternoon, no appeals had been filed by the three Breeders' Cup jockeys, who have 72 hours from the issuance of the rulings to contest them.

If the CHRB had not altered its whipping penalty structure back in April, those $11,000 in aggregate Breeders' Cup fines could have been even higher.

In an attempt to discourage riders from disregarding the number of times and manner in which a Thoroughbred can be struck with the whip–particularly if the jockey believed the reward of winning a multi-million-dollar stakes outweighed the cost of incurring a smaller fine or suspension–a previously proposed penalty structure called for docking jockeys 50% of purse earnings if they over-whipped while finishing first, second or third in graded stakes.

But when the Guild and other stakeholders argued in March that going after purse money was too harsh, the CHRB revised that aspect before that part of the rule went into effect.

At that March meeting, CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales had said that “this rule is [about] making sure that the upcoming Breeders' Cup goes off [more] smoothly than anything else.” He articulated a concern that the combination of two days of

Grade I stakes and too weak a penalty scheme could create “a wild west type of a situation” in which jockeys openly flouted Rule 1688.

In terms of scale, the only recently comparable whip-related sanction in North America was a $5,000 fine and 20-day suspension levied against a New Jersey harness driver back in June.

Joe Bongiorno was penalized for whipping his pacer so indiscriminately during a Meadowlands race that the judges deemed his actions caused a three-horse spill that injured one rival horse so severely it had to be euthanized. In New Jersey, whipping a horse to make it run faster is prohibited in Thoroughbred racing but permitted with restrictions in Standardbred races.

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