Congressional Hearing Set for Jockey's Guild Investigation

A Congressional hearing has been set for Oct. 18 as part of an ongoing investigation into the Jockey's Guild regarding management practices and finances.

The Guild inquiry is part of an ongoing investigation by the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations concerning the adequacy of on-track accident insurance for jockeys and the absence of such injury-related health insurance for many exercise riders and backstretch workers. The investigation began in January.

A spokesman for the subcommittee chairman U.S. Rep Ed Whitfield said a witness list has not been set for the hearing.

"This is the first hearing of the overall investigation and I suspect that it won't be the last one," spokesman Jeff Miles said Thursday.

It has been rumored that some prominent jockeys such Jerry Bailey and Pat Day have been invited to testify at the hearing.

Earlier this month Congress issued two subpoenas for Jockey's Guild president Wayne Gertmenian to produce information about Guild management, accounting, payroll and documents regarding health insurance policies for its nearly 1,200 members. Gertmenian is required to submit the information to the Committee on Energy and Commerce by Oct. 3.