Congress Hears of Jockeys’ Workers Compensation Woes

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Racetrack executives appeared before a House panel in Washington last month arguing that congressional action is not necessary to solve industry problems, including a recent lapse in health insurance for jockeys that left the Jockeys’ Guild in turmoil and led to the ouster this week of its president.

But U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., who chaired the hearing, said federal action might be necessary. “A lot of interest groups do not want their turf touched, … (but) there are a lot of strong arguments for some uniformity and for some federal oversight and involvement,” he said.

Whitfield cited safety, insurance gaps and the use of medication among jockeys as concerns.

The House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee asked executives about gaps in safety and health insurance. In four states– Maryland, California, New York and New Jersey — jockeys are covered by workers’ compensation insurance. But coverage varies elsewhere.

Injured jockey
The panel heard testimony in October from a paralyzed jockey who was left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills after an accident at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Executives blamed the just-fired guild management for many of those problems.

“(The insurance) coverage has fallen apart as a result of the mismanagement of the Jockeys’ Guild’s affairs and I think what we will see is the re-establishment of a credible body to represent jockeys within the industry,” D.G. Van Clief Jr., chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said after the meeting. “Once that job is complete, I think we will be able to re-establish a safety net of insurance at all of our venues and protect those riders.”

Rep. Joe Barton, the chairman of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed that legislation should be a last resort. “We can do it on a voluntary basis,” he said.

But the guild’s freshly appointed national leader, Darrell Haire, said he favored a national solution.
“We would like to have collective bargaining and have a collective agreement with these racetracks to do the right thing,” Haire said.

A few weeks ago, the guild voted to fire President L. Wayne Gertmenian, who came under harsh criticism from the same House body in October for the alleged mismanagement of funds through the use of his consulting company, Matrix Capital.