The Jockeys’ Guild and the New York Racing Association have reached a three-year agreement through 2014.
Under terms of the agreement, NYRA will make payments to the Guild that will benefit all jockeys who are members of the Guild. They include life insurance, AD&D insurance, temporary disability payments, and subsidizing health care for active riders. The agreement also provides benefits to permanently disabled members, including reimbursements for medical and durable medical goods.
“We appreciate organizations like NYRA and a number of others who have chosen to stand up for the health, safety, and welfare of the jockeys who ride at their tracks,” said Terry Meyocks, national manager of the Jockeys’ Guild. “The benefits provided to the jockeys are vitally important and necessary because of the dangers jockeys face every day on the track. With the help of racetrack partners like NYRA, we are able to provide these benefits.”
“The jockeys at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga are world-class athletes who love horse racing and do a terrific job of helping to promote our great sport,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “We are very appreciative of the job they do and are pleased to enter into this new three-year agreement with the Jockeys’ Guild to ensure that our jockeys receive all of the critical medical benefits that reflect the risks associated with their profession.”
The agreement benefits not only NYRA-based jockeys but 750 active and permanently disabled members nationally.