Yahoo claims boycott possible

[Valuist]

I can't help but wonder if this wasn't just a sensationalist headline writer at Yahoo. It comes down to the lawsuit re: wearing advertising on the rider's pants. Velazquez and Santos are saying they will sit out the race if the ruling goes against them; Velazquez went as far as to say that if they would sit, there'd be no Derby.......maybe a little too much self-importance there, Johnny V?? Baffert didn't seem too concerned about it. From a principal standpoint, why shouldn't the riders be allowed to wear advertising apparel? All the NASCAR cars are covered w/logos. Maybe they should put the logos on the horse's saddlecloth.

[cj]

The cars have logos all over them because the owners get paid for them, not the drivers. When an owner agrees to let a jockey ride his horse, he should also have a say in what the jockey wears. Owners silks are important to them, maybe they don't want the focus away from them. Whatever the reason, the owner should make the rules. Of course, the tracks allow owners to race at the racetrack, so they come first. I don't get why jocks think they have a right to this.

[Dancer's Image]

I agree with CJ on this...

"I don't get why jocks think they have a right to this."

...it sounds real simple, have the jockeys agree to wear what the owners want them to wear since they are riding the owners horses and the owners are paying the jockeys. BUT, anytime you get a union involved, things cease being simple.

[Valuist]

But what if the owner doesn't object? Then I think the money should go to the owner but he could elect to give the rider a cut. Lets not forget, there's only a handful of races where companies would be willing to fork over a decent sum of money for this. I can't see a horse running in a $7500 maiden claimer being a target for ads.

[Milleruszk]

I agree with you guys...the jockeys are in the employ of the owners and are wearing the owners' colors and shouldn't be allowed to alter the "uniform" without the owners consent.

Tom

[Observer]

Jockeys are going to sit out the Kentucky Derby over this??? Don't we hear time and again, from owners, trainers, jockeys, etc. that the Derby is the one race everyone wants to win??? And these guys are going to sit out if they don't get to wear logos??? Sure, who wants to lose the advertising money .. however .. if the Derby is the race .. and some of these guys have never won it .. should we than interpret that as meaning those guys might not be feeling very confident in their Derby mounts???

[tbald]

NASCAR drivers receive a cut of the sponsorship deal their car owners get. How do you think they get a large potion of their salary? They do promotional duties and are compensated accordingly so your NASCAR argument doesn't hold water. Many cars are sponsored only because of the marketability of the drivers, much the same as it would be with the jocks.

As an owner, I'd like the right to have corporate sponsorship of my racing stable and would love to feature any company's logo on my silks, as long as I get the money. If the jock wants to wear corp logos on his pants, I'm fine with that also as long as I am compensated when he rides my horse.

[Dancer's Image]

TBALD,
You got it right....it's all about the money!

NASCAR does it their way because they all make money off of the ads. The problem here is that the jockeys negotiated this deal on their own and not only the track and the owners don't share in the revenue, but it also undercuts the derby sponsor, ie. VISA. You understand that if the jockeys were allowed to wear ads on their pants, that the VISA sponsorship, which VISA pays dearly for, is less valuable.

It's all about the money and it probably will be negotiated sometime in the future similar to how NASCAR does it now.

[tbald]

To use the Nascar analogy again - Nextel sponsors Nascar yet you see individual car sponsorship from Alltel, Cingular, Sprint, etc and there's no degradation of the Nextel sponsorship. I always laugh when Pepsi sponsors the Pepsi 400 and one of the Coke guys wins and prominently displays a nice cold Coke in the winner's circle.... :D

I see no reason a track couldn't have Bud sponsoring a race and have their signs all over the track and feel no effect when my Coors sponsored filly arrives to have her photo taken after she wins by 20....