HORSE RACING : Jockeys Propose Tough Drug Rules

If they can get the backing of individual state racing commissions, members of the Jockeys’ Guild will have struck a positive blow against one of racing’s biggest negatives--drug use by riders.

At a meeting this week in Las Vegas, the guild, which represents most of the riders in the United States, adopted a broad policy that is more than cosmetic, it is a step that should discourage the use of cocaine and other drugs in jockeys’ rooms around the country.

Dee Hubbard, an adviser to the Jockeys’ Guild who attended the meeting, discussed the riders’ anti-drug position Thursday during a break in the 16th annual racing symposium sponsored by the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. Hubbard owns Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico and is a partner in The Woodlands, a racing facility for horses and greyhounds in Kansas City, Kan.

Reacting to the bad publicity that jockeys have received because of the lapses into cocaine use by Chris Antley, Pat Valenzuela and others, the guild is urging riders to report to the stewards any knowledge of fellow jockeys appearing to be under the influence of either narcotics or alcohol.

The first step a jockey is supposed to take is to ask the rider in question to take himself off his mounts for the day. If he refuses, the other jockey is supposed to report him to the stewards.

The guild is also asking for these penalties:

--For a first positive test, probation while a jockey undergoes a rehabilitation program.

--For a second offense, a six-month suspension.

--For a third offense, a lifetime ban. A jockey banned for life would be able to apply for reinstatement after two years.

Hubbard said these rules are similar to the drug policy in the National Basketball Assn. He is skeptical, however, about whether the guild’s position will have any effect on the way state racing commissions handle drug cases.

“This had to be done, but there’s a good chance that the commissions will ignore the guild on this,” Hubbard said. “I get the feeling that a lot of racing’s stewards don’t want to be bothered with the problem, whether they’re afraid of lawsuits or whatever the reason.

“In New Mexico, we’ve had riders who have been up and down (on and off suspensions) five or six times. They test positive, but then the stewards give them the chance to resume riding (after) a negative test, and they take the test at their convenience, when they know they’re clean.”

Hubbard pointed out how much more dangerous it is for jockeys riding on cocaine than for athletes in other sports.

“If a pro basketball player is on something, he might miss a slam dunk that he might normally make, or a football player might miss a block,” Hubbard said. “But a jockey who doesn’t have his head right could cause a spill that endangers every other rider in the race.”

Cliff Wickman, former president of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, a national agency that furnishes security at many tracks, sees the Jockeys’ Guild’s new drug approach as a significant change in direction.

“One of the problems we always had in policing racing was getting one jockey to testify against another,” Wickman said. “Most of the time they’d clam up when we investigated a race. But if they’re serious about what they’re saying about drugs, it’s going to be a big help.”

Jockeys’ Guild officials, who are former riders, would like to see more testing of their members.

“We’ve got more than 40 members in wheelchairs because of accidents on the track,” said Chuck Corolla, a field agent for the guild. “This is not to say drugs were involved in any of those spills, but more testing can only result in more safety.

“Not every one of these 40 injured riders made the kind of money Ron Turcotte (Secretariat’s regular jockey) made in his career. The stewards are always saying that they test if there’s probable cause, but we say that tests should be taken if there’s even reasonable cause.

“If two jocks get into a fight, they ought to be tested, just as a precaution. There should be a lot of random testing. Even an anonymous phone call is cause to test a jock, as far as we’re concerned.

“In Ohio, a jock tested positive and was fined $250 and suspended for 10 days. Then he tested positive again, and all they gave him was $250 and 20 days. That’s not enough. Then they turn around and give a rider a five-year suspension if he’s trying to hop a horse with a battery.”

The University of Arizona has graduated more than 150 students from its Race Track Industry Program. It’s a wonder many of them didn’t change their majors, because every year at the university-sponsored symposium, racing leaders gather and bombard themselves with the myriad problems in the industry.

“I’ve had something to do with racing since 1963 and I’ve been attending things like this ever since then,” said Jerry Lawrence, general manager at Churchill Downs. “We talk about our problems, some fixes are mentioned, but then we go home and nothing much really gets done. Then we come back the following year and talk about the problems all over again.”

Lawrence may be frustrated, but at least he works for one of the prosperous tracks. It was only in recent years that Churchill Downs became known for a racing program other than Kentucky Derby week, and in 1991 the Louisville track will host the Breeders’ Cup races for the second time in four years.

But success has its struggles.

“I got a call recently from Bill Greely (general manager at Keeneland),” Lawrence said. “He wanted all the tracks in Kentucky to get together and discuss the possibilities of telephone betting.

“Naturally, we were interested. But then less than a month later, I got another call from Bill--the guy who wanted to organize us, mind you--to say that Keeneland was dropping out. Now I can understand Keeneland’s position. They’re a track that’s on top, and they’re also very conservative and politically they’re always careful and concerned about how they will look. But without them, the group was nothing. And this is typical of racing, trying to get all of its groups together on anything.”