Highly restrictive riding crop regulations soon to be implemented by the New Jersey Racing Commission have discouraged some jockeys from riding this summer at Monmouth Park, and fewer horses were entered for opening day, May 28, compared to the track's opening last July.
Forty-five horses were entered in six races for a twilight card that begins at 5 p.m. ET, down from 51 that went to post in six races on opening day last year following six scratches. The track ran two turf races last summer, compared to having one turf race, the $100,000 Jersey Derby, on Friday, when wet weather is forecast. Grass races typically draw larger fields.
Only six races on Friday were carded, as intended, due to the late post. The track runs lengthier programs with earlier post times on weekends.
The new New Jersey riding crop rule allows jockeys to carry a crop but they can only use it for safety. The regulation leaves stewards to oversee enforcement, and they will be able to fine or suspend a rider if they determine it was simply used to achieve a better finish. A jockey's share of the purse could also be forfeited for prohibited use. According to Terry Meyocks, president and CEO of the Jockeys' Guild, a jockey can be penalized for merely waving the crop at his mount.
Not one of the top five riders from last summer's meet at Monmouth has a ride on Friday, though some are currently serving suspensions for riding infractions. Upset with the new rule, Joe Bravo, nicknamed "Jersey Joe" for his longtime success on the circuit, previously announced he would not ride the meet under the riding crop rule.
Riders booked on mounts Friday include Jose Ferrer, Isaac Castillo, Carlos Hernandez, and Jomar Torres—who were toward the bottom half of last summer's Monmouth top-10 standings by wins. Later last year, during the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet, Ferrer was the leading rider with 11 winners over the eight live racing cards.
There are also some additions to the track's depleted riding colony this summer. Fourteen different jockeys are named to ride on Friday.
John Heims, director of racing and racing secretary at Monmouth Park, said track officials contacted participating jockeys to confirm they would ride and they agreed.
Several horses do not have jockeys assigned aboard them in the Jersey Derby, which Heims said is allowed at time of entry for stakes races. Those mounts will be finalized in the upcoming days, according to Heims.
Proponents of riding crop restrictions believe they reduce claims of animal abuse. Those that oppose riding crop restrictions counter that they put jockeys at risk from being unable to fully control their mounts, such as when anticipating when one might be readying to duck in or out.
Jockeys riding on Friday are a mixture of members and non-members of the Jockeys' Guild, said Meyocks.
Entries for Friday didn't happen without drama. In the lead-up to the start of the meet, numerous jockeys indicated they would not ride at the New Jersey track, dissatisfied with the NJRC rule. That regulation, passed last fall without consultation from jockeys, was delayed from implementation last year, and enforcement begins Friday.
Earlier this spring, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, denied a motion by the Jockeys' Guild to stay the NJRC regulation pending a decision on its yet-to-be-resolved appeal that is still working its way through the courts.
Then on Tuesday, the track, now taking center stage in a fight between jockeys and the NJRC, threatened to ban riders for the entire meet if they refused to accept rides on Friday as a boycott. Excluded from this announced ban were jockeys with previous commitments for Friday racing, or riders serving suspensions, such as Paco Lopez, Nik Juarez, and Ferrin Peterson.
"We are not going to let people stick it to us and cost us money by canceling racing," Heims told BloodHorse early Tuesday morning.
"There are a number of riders that probably felt pressured by the track and at the same time are willing to risk their lives in riding," Meyocks said. "Other riders are concerned about their safety."
Heims and Meyocks said there were conversations between jockey representatives and track management late Tuesday morning. The Jockeys' Guild, Meyocks said, wanted to "see if we could all come together and go to the commission as one," with hopes of getting the NJRC to alter the rule or delay implementation.
He said implementing the New Jersey rule now, with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act set to take effect next summer, is poor timing when the industry should be working toward uniform rules.
The New Jersey regulation is the strictest in the country after some regulatory bodies earlier limited the number of strikes a jockey can give a horse and the manner in which a strike is delivered.
In anticipation of the new rule, some bettors have announced on social media they do not plan to bet on Monmouth Park as they had in the past.
