Terry Meyocks

Monmouth Park jockeys will once again be allowed to use their whips to encourage their mounts when the meet kicks off May 7. The change was made during a special hearing held Friday by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which voted to rescind rules that were put in place prior to the 2021 Monmouth meeting that allowed whipping only in cases where it was needed for safety reasons. New Jersey was the only state in the country where whipping was banned. Monmouth's whipping rules were set to change July 1,...

In memory of late jockey Jose Miguel Mena and to support his family, jockeys at racetracks around the country on Saturday, Nov. 13, will be wearing black armbands emblazoned with his nickname, "Cholo." Mena was tragically killed in a vehicular accident in Louisville, Kentucky Oct. 31, 2021. "Miguel was a longtime member of the Jockeys' Guild and a valued member of each and every jockey colony where he rode," said Jockeys' Guild President and CEO Terry Meyocks. "We hope this show of support and affection will bring some comfort to...

Jockeys Florent Geroux and E. T. Baird were fined $5,000 each by the stewards at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for exceeding the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)'s six-strikes-per-race limit on their mounts in Breeders' Cup races. In addition, jockey Tom Eaves got fined $1,000 for raising his whip above shoulder level prior to a strike. All of those actions were deemed to be in violation of CHRB Rule 1688, which mandates six-strike, underhand-only, no-more-than-two-hits-in succession whipping with crops that are designed to deliver lower-impact blows. The two $5,000 fines are...

Hall of Fame jockeys, TVG's on-air talent and other prominent racing personalities will once again take to the phones Sunday, Oct. 17 as TVG and The Jockeys Guild host the third annual telethon to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). The event, canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, raised $330,000 in 2019, an increase of more than $100,000 over the inaugural event in 2018. Fan favorite jockeys of today and years past will be on hand live at call centers in California and Kentucky from 12:00...

Junior Alvarado, Julien Leparoux, Deshawn Parker, Gerard Melancon and Scott Stevens are finalists for the 2021 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, the New York Racing Association announced Sunday. Created in 1989, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is awarded to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career. All active jockeys in the continental U.S. are eligible to vote for...

In a June 7 letter, the Jockeys' Guild informed its membership that, starting July 1, Monmouth Park jockeys will no longer be covered by Guild insurance policies. The Guild has been providing temporary disability benefits, life insurance and Accident, Death and Disability benefits to those who have chosen to ride in New Jersey. The Guild has been adamant in its belief that racing has become more dangerous at Monmouth Park because jockeys are no longer allowed to encourage their mounts with the use of the whip. In the June 7...

The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, denied Jockeys' Guild's motion to stay the New Jersey Racing Commission's Regulation on the use of the riding crop in Thoroughbred racing. Jockeys' Guild sought the stay of enforcement pending a decision on its appeal, which has not yet been decided. "We are extremely disappointed in this decision on our motion for a stay of enforcement. This Regulation prohibits jockeys from using the riding crop as they have been trained, increasing the risk of injury to both the horse and rider," said...

One day in the not-too-distant past, a jockey who had taken a tumble at a Mid-Atlantic racetrack was required to get a doctor's note giving him the medical all-clear before he could ride at the same facility. And so, that's what he did. But rather than head immediately to a physician in that same state, the jockey hopped the border to ride at Laurel Park. After taking his mounts at the Maryland track, the rider swung by the office of Kelly Ryan, co-medical director for the Maryland Horsemen's Health Program....

1/ST has announced its continued support of the Jockeys' Guild. Under the terms of the agreement between the two organizations, each of 1/ST RACING's venue racetracks (Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, and The Maryland Jockey Club operating Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park) will continue to make payments to the Jockeys' Guild to subsidize health, life and accident insurances, as well as short-term and long-term disability benefits for jockeys who are members of the Guild and ride at 1/ST RACING racetracks. "1/ST RACING is pleased to continue...

Throughout the sport, the coronavirus has meant adjustments, For most jockeys, that includes no longer being able to use the "hot box" to take off weight. For several racetracks and racing departments, that has meant a concession to the jockeys in the form of raising the scale of weights. But will these temporary solutions become permanent when life returns to normal and might eliminating the saunas in jockeys' quarters ultimately prove to be a solution that helps riders stay healthy? These are questions already being discussed. The saunas, which many...

A surge in positive Coronavirus tests among jockeys was met on Tuesday with a flurry of new movement-related restrictions at Thoroughbred tracks from coast to coast in an effort to keep the pandemic from spreading further. For the industry in general, any sizable spike in COVID-19 positives among participants will almost certainly trigger another wave of racetrack shutdowns. But for jockeys specifically, the balance of maintaining safety under pandemic precautions often comes down to treading a fine line between protecting one's health versus protecting one's livelihood. Since the end of...

Have saddle, will travel--a well-worn aphorism. But is it a wise one to emulate in this time of the coronavirus? Within the past week, Flavien Prat, Victor Espinoza, Eduard Rojas Fernandez, Luis Saez and Martin Garcia have all tested positive for the virus--a chain of events that can be traced back to Los Alamitos over the July 4 weekend, said Derek Lawson, Prat's agent. "There's no question that that's where it happened," he said, of Prat's infection occurring at the Southern California facility. But against a broader surge in coronavirus...