Racetrack, Jockeys' Guild Officials Meet

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Racetrack officials met with the new leadership of the Jockeys' Guild Dec. 1 to discuss "issues of mutual concern," according to a Guild release.

Representatives of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, Churchill Downs Inc., Magna Entertainment Corp., and the New York Racing Association met with the Guild for five hours in Louisville, Ky. The TRA is a racetrack trade organization; CDI, MEC, and NYRA are the largest racetrack concerns in the United States.

The purpose of the meeting was to "reopen a positive dialogue between the Guild and the horse racing industry, and establish a strong working relationship between them," the release said. The parties agreed to meet in the near future to continue the discussion.

In mid-November, the Guild board of directors ended its relationship with Matrix Capital Associates, headed by Dr. Wayne Gertmenian, and appointed Darrell Haire, a member representative for the Guild, as temporary national manager.

The Guild traditionally received more than $2 million a year from TRA-member racetracks to help pay insurance costs, though conflict between the racing industry and the Guild led some tracks to stop their payments this year.

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