The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the Jockeys' Guild announced Oct. 2 the members of a newly formed Jockey Mental Health Steering Committee and Advisory Council. The inaugural meeting of the new groups will take place Oct. 3 at Columbia University in New York City.
The steering committee, being led by Ambassador Earle Mack, was created with a collective goal of driving research, programming, and resources towards jockey mental wellness initiatives. Mack is the founder of the Man O' War Project at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, which has the program mission to scientifically evaluate equine-assisted therapy to help individuals who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Yuval Neria and Dr. Prudence Fisher are co-directors of the Man O' War project and will be instrumental in developing new jockey-specific programs.
The advisory group, under direction of HISA national medical director Dr. Pete Hester, will hold weekly brainstorming sessions with industry and external experts and report best practices and initiatives to the steering committee for next steps and potential full adoption.
"Jockeys are the backbone of Thoroughbred racing, and the formation of this steering committee and advisory council is a first step in ensuring comprehensive and accessible mental wellness resources for our sport's athletes," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. "We are proud to work with the Jockeys' Guild to bring these passionate and thoughtful individuals together to focus on this important issue and drive meaningful progress."
"The Jockeys' Guild appreciates all of the input and interest by industry participants to address jockeys' mental health and wellness," said Jockeys' Guild president and CEO Terry Meyocks. "The Guild has long advocated for the industry to recognize the stress and everyday challenges jockeys face. The Guild looks forward to working with the steering and advisory committees to develop programs which will demonstrate that we as an industry are able to support not only the jockeys but their family members as well and eventually all others in our industry."
In addition to Mack, Lazarus, and Meyocks, the steering committee members include:
- Craig Bandoroff was an apprentice jockey in New Jersey, before suffering a serious injury in a spill. He started Denali Stud near Paris, Ky., in 1990.
- Anthony Bonomo is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and campaigns horses under his Brooklyn Boyz Stable and MeB Stables.
- Donna Brothers was a successful jockey, winning over 1,100 races and retiring in 1998 as the second-leading female jockey in the United States by money earned.
- Eurico Rosa da Silva is a retired Thoroughbred racing jockey. Da Silva retired at the end of the 2019 racing season having won 2,286 races. Six times he was voted the Sovereign Award for Canada's outstanding jockey.
- Terry Finley is the founder and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, the largest Thoroughbred partnership management company. Finley resides in Bowling Green, Ky., with his wife and business partner, Debbie.
- Graham Motion was born in Newmarket, England, is a trainer based in Fair Hill, Maryland, and owner of Herringswell Stables.
- Gary Palmisano is the executive director of racing at Churchill Downs.
- Dan Waits is executive director of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.
The Advisory Council members include the following experts:
- Dr. Pete Hester, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and shoulder surgery. Dr. Hester currently practices at Lexington Clinic in Lexington, where he serves as the director of sports medicine and head team physician for numerous colleges, high schools and club teams in Kentucky. His is national medical director for HISA.
- Michael Bingaman is a licensed practicing counselor who currently serves as the chaplain of Retama Park in Selma, Texas.
- Mindy Coleman has served as counsel for the Jockeys' Guild since 2009.
- Pat Day is a retired jockey who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1991.
- Ramon Dominguez is a native of Caracas, Venezuela, and a retired Hall of Fame jockey and three-time Eclipse Award winner. Dominguez currently serves as the president of the New York Race Track Chaplaincy.
- Dr. Prudence Fisher is a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) and associate professor of clinical psychiatric social work in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
- Jeff Johnston, HISA's rider safety and welfare manager, draws on a distinguished career representing jockeys and his extensive experience as a jockey himself to enhance rider safety and mental wellness initiatives within the racing industry.
- Ann McGovern oversees HISA's Racetrack Safety Program as well as reporting related to its enforcement. McGovern has served on the national board of the Race Track Chaplaincy and has been involved in numerous jockey welfare initiatives.
- Dr. Yuval Neria is a professor of medical psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and director of the PTSD Research and Treatment Program and the Military Family Wellness Center at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
- Anne Poulson is a strategic adviser to the Man O' War Project at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She is a lifelong horsewoman, who practiced law in Washington, D.C., and is a former president of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association and former chairman of the Virginia Racing Commission.
More background on steering committee and advisory council members.
