Problems are brewing...

[blackthroatedwind]

The riders do not have a united front and cannot seem to figure out how to help themselves thus I can't understand how they expect others to help them. Their self-serving approach, along with a general disdain for everyone else involved in this industry, is not going to help them.

[randallscott35]

Isn't everyone in the game self-serving though?...Is it blackmail, sure, but good faith bargaining doesn't exist anymore.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Isn't everyone in the game self-serving though?...Is it blackmail, sure, but good faith bargaining doesn't exist anymore.

To a certain extent but others aren't asking for help the way the riders seem to be.

[Danzig]

i disagree with his contention that a jockey is an employee. who employs him? isn't he a contractor, and self-employed?
but if they can 'prove' that jockeys are employees, then someone else has to pay all the workmens comp ins. and then an injured jock would be covered by that, and there goes the need for the disabled jockey fund.

[brianwspencer]

While I admit to following the jockeys guild stuff with only passing interest, shouldn't this really say it all? I didn't even need to get to the interview to know it was going to be bad.

Sports agent, real estate developer, rare coin expert and skilled negotiator, Dwight Manley was named in July 2006 the National Manager of the Jockeys' Guild, a union representing more than 1,100 of the nation's horse racing jockeys.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i disagree with his contention that a jockey is an employee. who employs him? isn't he a contractor, and self-employed?
but if they can 'prove' that jockeys are employees, then someone else has to pay all the workmens comp ins. and then an injured jock would be covered by that, and there goes the need for the disabled jockey fund.

Well, if they are employees then they have no rights whatsoever to advertising dollars they may receive. This, of course, gets to the heart of the matter, which is that they want things both ways. They want the benefits of being a private contractor and the benefits of being an employee.

Benefits only.

[randallscott35]

And a weight break, don't forget that.

[Honu]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Well, if they are employees then they have no rights whatsoever to advertising dollars they may receive. This, of course, gets to the heart of the matter, which is that they want things both ways. They want the benefits of being a private contractor and the benefits of being an employee.

Benefits only.

But do not pro football players and such get to make commercials endorsing products for a fee? I do believe they are employees of the owner of the football team they play for.
A solution I think would be to just put all jockeys under contract for owners like they do in Europe( where by the way standard losing jock mount no matter the purse is no less than 100.00) , then the owners could mandate what they can and cant do and they would be insured and protected.
Sure the owner without alot of money and good horses would get the bottum rung riders but then again they would only have to insure 1 or 2 jocks and they would be their employees. Racing is very diffirent from any other industry and its hard to find solutions when everyone has a "we against them" attitude , I do agree that the jockeys approach the horseman in a combative way and until they adjust their attitude it is most likely the jocks wont get any help at all.
Racetracks and horseman do have an obligation to make sure that riders have the help they need when they get in accidents on horseback otherwise they open themselves up to lawsuits and to be honest I wouldnt step a foot into the stirrup unless I knew I would be covered by accident insurance.
There are still racetracks that dont mandate the trainers have workmans comp. and how they get away with this I have know idea.

[blackthroatedwind]

The jockeys are also free to appear in advertisements. I am talking about them wearing advertisements during races.

[whodey17]

Universal Health Care Coverage would fix this problem. I can really see both sides here but who would employ the jocks? Would they be state employees? Employees of the owners. Employees of the trainers? If they were employeed by either of these people then they cannot choose who they ride and when. It would be a logistic mess. The racing industry really needs to come together as a group and work as a group. The sport is so seperated and that is the biggest part of the problem in my mind.

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by Honu

But do not pro football players and such get to make commercials endorsing products for a fee? I do believe they are employees of the owner of the football team they play for.
A solution I think would be to just put all jockeys under contract for owners like they do in Europe( where by the way standard losing jock mount no matter the purse is no less than 100.00) , then the owners could mandate what they can and cant do and they would be insured and protected.
Sure the owner without alot of money and good horses would get the bottum rung riders but then again they would only have to insure 1 or 2 jocks and they would be their employees. Racing is very diffirent from any other industry and its hard to find solutions when everyone has a "we against them" attitude , I do agree that the jockeys approach the horseman in a combative way and until they adjust their attitude it is most likely the jocks wont get any help at all.
Racetracks and horseman do have an obligation to make sure that riders have the help they need when they get in accidents on horseback otherwise they open themselves up to lawsuits and to be honest I wouldnt step a foot into the stirrup unless I knew I would be covered by accident insurance.
There are still racetracks that dont mandate the trainers have workmans comp. and how they get away with this I have know idea.

I tend to agree with this idea.We could make it like baseball.But I think it would have huge drawbacks.If they did it like baseball or football,and had a league minimum for pay,it would drive out all the small stables,period.The small guys would not be able to afford the jock.And the small stables would not be able to afford all the insurance,etc,that would probably be required under league rules.
The Big shot jocks would still get all the good mounts,and the shitty jocks would still get the shitty mounts.In this scenario,On the plus side, when Johnny V comes up for free agency when his contract with Pletcher expires,The owners could have one hell of a bidding war.They could do it at Keeneland,like a sale,and put it on ESPN,and all of us could bet on who is going to get him.We could wager on how big his new contract will be,etc,etc...Then,all the new jocks from McCarron's school could get drafted in the same way.They could ride at OBS first,so everyone could see their skills.This would also be the end of Jockey agents,so there is one less person they would have to pay,putting more money back in their pockets.The possibilities could be endless