Kentucky Notebook - 11/12

KENTUCKY

NOTEBOOK

NOVEMBER 12

by Steve Moody

Jockey insurance flap a "Lose, Lose, Lose,

Lose" situation

Churchill Downs' fall meet is traditionally one of the best in

the country. Full fields are the rule, not the exception, during

the four or five-week meet which runs through most of November.

The last bit of turf racing for the calendar year in Kentucky

provides owners one last opportunity to run their horses before

taking the winter off or going south. Full fields means very

competitive racing and lots of big prices, both on winners and

exotic bets, which are becoming more and more popular with

horseplayers.

But just when you start to think things are going reasonably

well in the racing world, along comes another obstacle.

Churchill Downs had over 26,000 in on-track attendance over

the weekend with good weather in the Louisville area. Sunday's

attendance of 15,999 was the largest single-day crowd outside of

Kentucky Derby week since 2002 before the construction at the

Downs began. Total wagering for the two-day period topped $18

million while on-track wagering came in over $2.3 million.

Favorites prevailed in the two-year-old stakes races contested on

Saturday while a big upset in Sunday's Churchill Downs Distaff

(G2) helped to keep the Pick-6 from being hit yet again, leaving

a carryover pool in excess of $140,000 for Wednesday's card.

What many fans in attendance or betting from home didn't

realize, however, was that trouble started brewing with

Wednesday's overnight card. Entries for Wednesday were drawn on

Sunday morning and several of the meet's top riders instructed

their agents that they would not accept any mounts in protest of

what they felt was insufficient insurance coverage. Fourteen

riders in all and four of the top six in the standings refused to

accept mounts.

The riders' refusals coming during the middle of the meet was

where the whole process begins to break down.

There's no question that the riders should have adequate

insurance protection and the current $100,000 policy limit is not

enough in case of a serious or debilitating accident. Riders like

Pat Day and Jerry Bailey carry supplemental coverage on

themselves and they pay the additional premium themselves. Bailey

reported that he carries a $2 million disability policy, which

costs him $10,000 a year.

Churchill Downs realized this and found an insurer who would

provide medical coverage up to $5,000,000 for $100-$220 a month

based on the rider's age. When Churchill President Steve Sexton

met with riders on Sunday night, the supplemental package was

presented to them along with an ultimatum to ride or get out.

Although Churchill Downs is not required to pay the premiums

on a jockey's current insurance, they do so because they

understand the obvious importance of the riders to the game and

it benefits them to have the best jockey colony possible.

Churchill Downs and other TRA-member tracks also pay $2.2 million

to the Jockeys' Guild, which supposedly is to be used to provide

insurance coverage to members. If the jockeys are upset with

their insurance situation, it would seem their first mission

would be to find out where that annual payment of $2.2 million

goes.

After all, it was jockeys who went to court last spring and

won the right to wear advertising logos. They demonstrated they

were independent contractors and not employees of the racetrack.

The court correctly agreed with them. Well, you can't have it

both ways. You can't claim to be an independent contractor when

it comes to making money and then want to be covered like an

employee when it comes to spending money on things like

insurance. That's a cost of doing business. Trainers buy

insurance for themselves and their employees. Jockeys shouldn't

expect or demand that someone else pick up their tab.

Insurance for riders is not just a local problem, but rather

industry-wide and nationwide. Five racing states cover riders

under workman's compensation laws while others, including

Kentucky, do not. Gov. Ernie Fletcher was scheduled to meet with

members of the Jockeys' Guild to discuss the situation, although

it would be foolish to think swift action would be forthcoming.

The wheels of politics tend to move slowly if at all.

Unfortunately, this latest flap is likely just the first of

many. You can expect to see similar confrontations at other

racetracks across the country in states where riders aren't

covered by workman's compensation. Until an industry-wide

solution is hammered out, it's losing situation for all

concerned.

The jockeys who refuse to ride are losing business as well as

alienating owners and trainers. The racetracks where riders are

boycotting are unable to showcase the best riders possible as

well as losing business because bettors are reluctant to back

horses as strongly or at all with an 8 percent rider is aboard as

opposed to a jockey who wins at an 18 percent clip. Lastly, the

industry as a whole absorbs another body blow and receives more

negative publicity, the last thing it needs in the

ultra-competitive battle for gaming dollars.