Jockey Jeremy Rose, rider of Preakness (gr. I) and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Afleet Alex, has settled out of court for an undisclosed amount with Triple Crown Nutrition, a Minnesota-based feed company, over the unauthorized use of the jockey’s image on bags of horse feed.
Rose filed a lawsuit against the company Jan. 10 in a Pennsylvania Middle District Court, but later settled out of court under mediation between lawyers on both sides. The company used an image of Rose aboard Afleet Alex on bags of feed.
“There was a clear-cut copyright infringement, and Jeremy felt very upset that nobody came to him and asked permission on this,” said Kelly Wietsma, the jockey’s representative and president of the equine public relations firm Equisponse. “He is very happy with the outcome, because had it gone any other way it would have been a clear violation of his rights.”
Wietsma said Rose’s mother, Cindy Robinson, is a Northeastern sales representative for Purina Mills.
A spokesman for Triple Crown Nutrition declined to comment on the situation.