Jockey riding fees increased at Emerald Downs | Horse Racing

The Washington Horsemen’s Benevolence and Protective Association and the Jockeys' Guild have agreed on a new mount fee schedule for the 82-day Emerald Downs meet running from April 15 to Sept. 25.

January 27, 2011 8:07 pm

The Washington Horsemen’s Benevolence and Protective Association and the Jockeys’ Guild have agreed on a new mount fee schedule for the 82-day Emerald Downs meet running from April 15 to Sept. 25.

The jockey fees, generally the amount paid for mounts that finish fourth and lower, have been upped to a $55 minimum as opposed to $45 under the old fee schedule. The new scale ranges from $55 to $115, depending on the caliber of the race.

Ron Maus, President of the Washington HBPA, said jockeys face the same economic pressures as everyone else and needed this boost.

“The HBPA acknowledges that the cost-of-living is going up, and we agreed to this raise,” he said.

In thoroughbred racing, a winning jockey receives 10 percent of what the winning horse earns in a race and second and third-place jockeys receive 5 percent of what the second and third place finishers earn.

For example, in a 10-horse field with an $18,000 purse the winning horse receives 55 percent of the purse, $9,900, and the jockey receives 10 percent of the winnings, $990. The second-place horse earns 20 percent of the $18,000 purse, $3,600, of which the second-place jockey gets 5 percent of the purse, which is $180. And the third-place horse earns 15 percent of the purse, $2,700, of which the jockey gets 5 percent, which figures to $135. The jockeys of the fourth through 10th place finishers would all receive $65, up $10 from the last several years.

Darrell Haire, Western Regional Manager for the Jockeys’ Guild, praised Maus and Paul George of the Washington Horse Racing Commission for their responsiveness to the jockeys.

“This agreement was a cooperative effort of the Washington HBPA, the jockeys, and the Guild,” Haire said in a release. “I would like to thank Ronald Maus, the president of the Washington HBPA, and its board and staff for working with us on this agreement and also the spirit in which the business was conducted. I would also like to thank Paul George, chairman of the Washington Horse Racing Commission, and its members for their approval.”

Mount fee increases have recently been legislated at California tracks and negotiated at 35 other tracks in New York, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico.