Jockeys Threaten Strike Over Insurance

Many Hollywood Park jockeys have told racing officials that they will not name themselves on horses scheduled to run at Santa Anita on Jan. 1 if the Jockeys’ Guild hasn’t signed a contract for accident insurance by then.

The guild, which represents about 95% of the country’s jockeys, has been negotiating for months with the Thoroughbred Racing Assns., which have been paying for the insurance for about 20 years. The TRA represent most of the major tracks, among them Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.

“Some of the jockeys have come up to me and said they won’t be named at entry time on Dec. 29 if there’s no insurance coverage,” said Dave Samuel, a Hollywood Park steward. “Charlie McCaul (the clerk of scales at Hollywood) said that just about all the jockeys in the room have told him the same thing.”

The jockeys’ current insurance contract expires Dec. 31. Entries will be taken for the Jan. 1 races at Santa Anita on Dec. 29.

“If the jockeys aren’t named to ride horses, we have no control over them,” Samuel said. “Once they’re named, we can do something (suspensions, fines) if they don’t show up without cause.”

John Giovanni, national manager of the Jockeys’ Guild, said Friday that no negotiations are scheduled with the TRA.

“Money isn’t the issue,” Giovanni said. “The only issue now is the disclaimer that the TRA wants us to accept about the broadcasting rights. They want us to say that we only thought that we’ve had those rights all these years, and that they really didn’t pay for the insurance in exchange for our waiving those rights. They want us to say now that they paid for the insurance all those years only because we were nice guys. Who’s going to believe that?”

The TRA is willing to pay a $5-million premium for the first year of a three-year insurance policy, but wants to put a 3% inflation ceiling on the premium for the last two years.