Strike

Riders and valets at Aqueduct delayed the start of Sunday's card by 14 minutes after refusing to saddle and ride because of a dispute with management over the status of a jockey's room employee, according to DRF Sunday. Valet Harry Rice told DRF that Fernando Rivera, who works in the jockey's room as a part-time valet/laundry person, was asked by NYRA not to come in Sunday. To offer some context, Rice explained that Rivera is close to having enough hours to join the union, which would make him eligible to...

Two people were shot and one person stabbed when violence broke out at La Plata Racecourse in Argentina Tuesday, Racing Post reported. Approximately 30 people were involved in the incident at the coastal track, located around 30 miles from Buenos Aires, and two people were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds. A third sustained a knife injury. Footage of the incident posted on social media showed a gunman running toward the group and producing a gun before a shot rings out. Other video shows a male being treated for...

Local 541, the racetrack employees union that includes Churchill Downs valets, has threatened this week to strike over a wage and contract dispute. A press release sent on behalf of the group Friday said that, "With less than 24 hours until the 147th Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Incorporated failed to attend a meeting early this morning to, once and for all, finalize a contract with its valets and avoid major disruptions at the Derby. The governor and mediator were notified of the meeting last night; even still, the valets were...