Terry Meyocks | Horse Racing Free Tips

Venezia Award Nominees Announced

Junior Alvarado, Julien Leparoux, Deshawn Parker, Gerard Melancon and Scott Stevens are finalists for the 2021 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, the New York Racing Association announced Sunday.

Created in 1989, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is awarded to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career.

All active jockeys in the continental U.S. are eligible to vote for the award winner.

“No one knows better than their fellow riders who is the most deserving of this award,” said Terry Meyocks, President and CEO of the Jockeys' Guild. “No matter who is chosen this year, each of these finalists is an accomplished athlete whose skills and dedication to racing is rivaled only by the respect they earn off the track.”

The 2021 Mike Venezia Memorial Award will be presented in a special ceremony at Saratoga Race Course Sept. 2.

The post Venezia Award Nominees Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Fair Compromise’: With Jockeys’ Guild On Board, Kentucky Commission Approves New Whip Rules

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission gave unanimous approval Tuesday to the new whip rules agreed upon by the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition and The Jockeys' Guild last month, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Kentucky's Legislative Research Commission is expected to recommend the new whip rules for approval later this year, so they could go into effect in late 2021.

The new rules are as follows:

A limit on overhanded strikes to a total of six throughout the race. Riders are required to give the horse a chance to respond after two. Overhanded uses may not include the rider raising the whip above the helmet.
Underhanded or backhanded use may begin in the final 3/8 of a mile. These uses will not count toward the six strike limit.
Showing the horse the whip or tapping the horse on the shoulder will remain acceptable if both hands are on the reins
Stewards can impose either a $500 minimum fine or a three-day minimum suspension. If the violation is egregious and intentional, they could impose both. Mitigating factors could include the rider's history with whip violations, and the number and types of use beyond the above restrictions

“We know this rule is a fair compromise and in the best interests of our industry,” Terry Meyocks, the chief executive officer of The Jockeys' Guild, told the KHRC after Tuesday's vote.

Jockeys’ Guild Cuts Insurance For Riders At Monmouth Park

In a letter to membership dated June 7, the Jockeys' Guild informed its membership that it will no longer provide insurance policies for riders at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. The New Jersey Racing Commission instituted the strictest whip policy in the country this year, preventing riders from using the whip for any reason except for safety. The Jockeys' Guild president Terry Meyocks has repeatedly voiced his opinion against the whip restriction in New Jersey.

“It is our opinion and belief that this regulation is extremely dangerous and is creating an even greater risk to both the equine and human athletes, including the potential for injury and/or loss of life to the jockeys and the horses,” the Guild said in its letter to members. “The increase of risk is thereby creating a greater exposure for the Jockeys' Guild and the benefits that we provide to our members who are riding under such regulation.”

Insurance for riders at Monmouth will end on July 1. Currently, those benefits include: temporary disability, life insurance, and Accident, Death and Disability benefits. When insurance coverage from the Jockeys' Guild ends, riders will have to take out their own insurance policies or accept the risks of racing without it.

Dennis Drazin, CEO and chairman of Monmouth Park operator Darby Development, called the Guild's decision a “cheap shot.”

“This is an uncalled-for reaction to a rule that the racing commission put into effect and now they want to punish their own jockeys because they are riding,” Drazin said. “The comments I have heard are that some of the jocks are upset with the Guild and don't feel that they are representing them well. Now they decide that they're going to suspend the benefits that they provide to our jockeys. Frankly, if our jockeys wanted to, they have a very good lawsuit against the Guild.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Jockeys’ Guild Cuts Insurance For Riders At Monmouth Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Guild to End Insurance Coverage for Monmouth Riders

In a June 7 letter, the Jockeys' Guild informed its membership that, starting July 1, Monmouth Park jockeys will no longer be covered by Guild insurance policies. The Guild has been providing temporary disability benefits, life insurance and Accident, Death and Disability benefits to those who have chosen to ride in New Jersey.

The Guild has been adamant in its belief that racing has become more dangerous at Monmouth Park because jockeys are no longer allowed to encourage their mounts with the use of the whip. In the June 7 letter, sent out to all Guild members, Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks wrote that, “The increase of risk is thereby creating a greater exposure for the Jockeys' Guild and the benefits that we provide to our members who are riding under such regulation.”

Meyocks said that the cost of the insurance policies has, so far, not increased due to the whip regulations, but that the Guild's Board of Directors is concerned that the ban will eventually lead to higher rates.

Once the policies have been withdrawn, it appears that anyone riding at Monmouth will either have to take out insurance of their own or accept the risks that would come from riding without coverage. When asked if he expected that some riders would chose to leave Monmouth because of the insurance situation, Meyocks replied, “I have no idea. I really don't. All we have done all along is to just inform everybody.”

Dennis Drazin, who heads the management company that operates the racetrack, lashed out at the Guild Monday, calling the decision to withdraw the insurance a “cheap shot.”

“This is an uncalled-for reaction to a rule that the racing commission put into effect and now they want to punish their own jockeys because they are riding,” Drazin said. “It doesn't reflect well on the Jockeys' Guild. It is something they should not have done. Insurance companies don't cancel your coverage because of the racing commission putting in a regulation that the Guild has known about for two years.”

Drazin suggested that those who will continue to ride at Monmouth have the grounds for a lawsuit against the Guild.

“The comments I have heard are that some of the jocks are upset with the Guild and don't feel that they are representing them well,” Drazin said. “Now they decide that they're going to suspend the benefits that they provide to our jockeys. Frankly, if our jockeys wanted to, they have a very good lawsuit against the Guild.”

Meyocks said that Monmouth is on a list of tracks that do not make any financial contributions to the Guild's insurance policies.

Monmouth kicked off its 2021 meet May 28 with the strictest rules in the sport regarding whipping. The rules, put into effect by the New Jersey Racing Commission, allow jockeys to carry whips but they can only use them when they feel they are in an unsafe situation. At no point in a race can a jockey use the whip to encourage the horse. Jockeys Joe Bravo and Antonio Gallardo have refused to ride at the meet due to safety concerns, but Monmouth has had no problem finding enough jockeys willing to ride. Ten racing days into the meet, the racing has been conducted without any noticeable safety issues.

The post Guild to End Insurance Coverage for Monmouth Riders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post