[Honu]

When I started riding races in 1986 I was told from other riders in the room you pay your valet 10% of your whole pay check , not whats left over after you pay your agent 25% and uncle sam and your tack bill and all that other crap.
The valets also get paid by the track a daily wage to saddle horses , the guy that sets your silks and cleans your saddle is not always the guy who saddles your horse , the valest are usually assigned numbers and that is who they saddle. The valets are also in a union , so when they retire they get their union benifits and all the other stuff that goes with it .
When I spent a summer riding here in California I couldnt believe that the horsemans bookkeeper would take 5% of my money and put it on the valets paycheck without asking me , that is just the way it is done here and really to be honest its wrong for them to take money from my paycheck.
I always paid my valet 10 % of my check and if we had a really good week Id throw a lil extra in too , but there were weeks when we didnt make much and he would say hey just catch me next time ok .
I believe the valets take care of the riders because its extra money in their pocket and they should be paid for it but I dont think its the racetracks place to take money out of my check and pay them , so I can see where the big guys who make alot of money could be getting pissed.
Some places the valets make 10$ per jocks ride and 25$ per win or however the scale goes , but it is always up to the rider how much they are gonna pay them. Most jockeys have good relationships with their valets and take care of them well , I just dont believe that they should be paid out of my paycheck without me saying so.