Exercise riders in California will need to pass a certification test by March 31 in order to remain eligible for the industry's Post Time workers' compensation program, reports Dan Ross in the Thoroughbred Daily News. Trainers with Post Time insurance will only be able to employ certified exercise riders after that date.
The exam is based on the British National Racing College's jockey fitness test, and consists of seven exercises encompassing upper body, lower body, and cardiovascular exercises, according to TDN. Post Time will give exercise riders a 30-day membership to a 24-Hour Fitness gym to train for the exam, if they so choose.
“Our goal is not to reduce exercise riders, it's to do with reducing the injuries that are a part of their occupation,” Michael Lyon, Post Time's program administrator, told the TDN. “It's our first blush at it, so, there's going to be hiccups and bumps in the road, but we'll handle those as they come. We just want to make the work exercise riders do safer for them.”
Post Time has three funding sources: a stall-per-day fee of $5.10, a per-start fee of $162, and 0.5 percent of money placed on exotic wagers.
The group has seen a 30 percent reduction in claims since May of 2020, due to the implementation of a “Director of Safety” position, which is responsible for establishing and regulating uniform safety standards across California facilities. However, Lyon said that exercise riders account for 40 percent of claims and yet 70 percent of costs, with one policy-limit claim in each of the last three years.
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
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