Philadelphia Park Jocks Walk Out

[sq764]

Jockeys Walk at Philly Park Over Payroll Dispute
by Linda Dougherty
Date Posted: 12/29/03 2:49:57 PM
Last Updated: 12/29/03 2:49:57 PM

Jockeys at Philadelphia Park voted not to ride the 10-race card Dec. 29 after they were unable to resolve payroll issues with management.
"The issue is jockeys being paid on a regular schedule like every other racetrack in the country," said veteran jockey Tony Black, who said the riders have been trying to negotiate since October. "We don't want the (drug) testing lab to impact our getting paid.

"If you ride at Delaware Park, for example, and there's a problem with a test, the money paid to a jockey for that mount is redistributed. But redistribution because of a bad test happens so infrequently--in 33 years, I've only had to refund money two or three times."

Black said that the "straw that broke the camel's back" was when payroll was sent to the jockeys' room Dec. 29, and even payments for losing mounts--which come directly from owner's accounts and are not affected by testing--weren't included.

"Not paying losing mounts was totally inexcusable," said Black, who said eight pay periods since Nov. 9 have been impacted by what management claims are slower testing periods by regulators. "We're not asking for some innovative new way of paying jockeys. We want to be paid like it's done at every other racetrack."

Said Hal Handel, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Park: "The riders are unhappy with how they perceive they're being paid, but we don't pay anybody until we get a clean test report. They're not our employees. Tests that once took 72 hours are now taking seven and eight days. The (Pennsylvania State) Racing Commission has an obligation to protect the public. This is a classic example of how not to do things.

"(The jockeys) have inconvenienced our customers today, they've inconvenienced the horsemen, and we don't negotiate at gunpoint."

Handel offered no explanation as to why the money for losing mounts wasn't paid. Black said he hoped the issue could be resolved by Dec. 30, and that representatives from management and the jockeys were scheduled to meet.

[shanta]

EASY FOR MR.HANDEL TO SAY THE THINGS HE SAID. HE DOES NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHERE HIS NEXT MEAL MIGHT BE COMING FROM .THESE JOCKS ARE IN A VERY DANGEROUS LINE OF WORK WHICH I FORGET SOMETIMES.THEY DESERVE TO GET PAID ON A TIMELY BASIS. MR.HANDEL ALSO HAVING NO EXPLANATION FOR NOT PAYING THE LOSING MOUNTS WELL.......... I DONT BLAME THE JOCKS AT ALL FOR WHAT THEY DID TODAY.SOMETIMES A "SHOCK" IS WHATS NEEDED TO GET THE "FAT CATS" OFF THEIR BUTTS !!!!! HOPE IT GETS RESOLVED SOON SO WE CAN GET BACK TO WAGERING THERE AND THE JOCKS CAN GET THEIR FAIR SHAKE!
RICHIE:)

[linrom1]

Good move on management's part. They should test all the runners, and not just the winners. As far as jockeys are concerned I could care less if they all get stiffed.

[Tom]

No pay, no play.
This is not fair to the jocks.
I stand by them 100% and will not play PHA. (THAT should get their attention!)
The jocks perform a service and have a right to be paid for it in a timely manner. They pay off the betting crowd as soon as the race is official, so the track argument is bogus.
Racing has to operate on the assumption that everything is LEGIT.
PHA is sending out a dangerous message to the public.
Hey, they were the only group in the whole damn country out risking life and limb on Christmas Eve and I am sure most of them would rather have been elsewhere. Pha mgt is bleeding stones.

Thumbs down!

[TonyK@HSH]

I fully understand the jocks position but they did adversly affect their bread and butter today, the horseman. While the jocks are experiencing some pay DELAYS, the horseman cannot recover the revenue they lost today. I believe the jocks decision was not a good one and one that will impact the relationships they have with owners/trainers.
And with all due respect to Tony Black (who can ride), his decision to boycot the card was an easy one as he was named on only 1 horse today, a 20-1 longshot. This decision certainly didn't impact the ringleader to any large extent.
It will also be interesting to see if the boycot costs Scott Lake the title for number of wins. He had 4 entrants on the card, 2 would have been prohibitive favorites.

Just my 2 cents

Tony

[VetScratch]

PA sent me an PM claiming Philly had not paid purses and asked me to comment on it in view of my criticism of NYRA's handling of horsemen's accounts (i.e., the pilfering).

From what SQ764 posted, these are two different issues, both of which are being handled stupidly by track management.

Most tracks, just as NYRA clearly states in the Horsemen's Guide, pay purses within 48-72 hours (or 2-3 business days) after a race is official. The funds, even in NY (as per the R&W Board), are supposed to be held in accordance with escrow requirements until they are paid. In each horseman's account, when purses are paid, the purse payment transactions are immediately followed by jockey payment transactions. This happens at the same time in horseman's accounts where the horse did not earn purse money. As a result, jockeys get paid when purse monies get paid into horsemen's accounts (about 48-72 hours after races).

BTW, see "NYRA Publications" at NYRA.COM if you want to download a copy of the Horseman's Guide (PDF document).

At Philadelphia, the 72-hour payment period has been extended to seven or eight days because "Tests that once took 72 hours are now taking seven and eight days" (see original post). This means no one gets paid until tests come back.

Frankly, since owners pay jockeys out of their accounts, if payments to owners now take seven or eight days, it is difficult to have much sympathy for the jockeys' impatience.

Basically the jockeys are saying, we negotiated a payment procedure through the Jockeys' Guild. You can't change that just because payments to owners are now delayed. However, many winning owners would not have funds on deposit to pay the winning jockey unless the purses are paid before the jockeys.

The jockeys want payroll checks delivered to the jock room before the track has settled matters with the owners. This is goofy!

At NYRA, the purses and jockey paments passed through the horsemen's accounts just as they should. The problem is that NYRA later took millions from the horsemen's accounts without disclosing this on horsemen's statements or via a loan agreement with the NY THA (which represents the horsemen).

So the two issues are different.

You would think Philadelphia management should have been smart enough to work this glitch out between the racetrack, owners' association, Jockeys' Guild, and Pennsylvania Racing Commission. Better testing should not halt racing.

[MikeH]

As an accountant, the first thing that I think of when I see a company make excuses about payroll is: "Are they in financial difficulty?" This is almost always signs of bankruptcy within several months.

Isn't Philly associated with, or owned by, Greenwood Racing? Has anyone seen any evidence that they are having money problems?

Also, do any of this forum's Pennsylvania members know if the money in the Phonebet accounts is held in segregated "escrow-type" accounts? If I had any large balances there, I would withdraw the bulk of the money for the time being...

[VetScratch]

MikeH,
As an accountant, the first thing that I think of when I see a company make excuses about payroll is: "Are they in financial difficulty?" This is almost always signs of bankruptcy within several months.I would agree completely with you except that owners pay the jockeys. If purses are not getting paid immediately after the drug tests clear, that would certainly be a much bigger red flag... although Philly may certainly be in financial trouble. Purse payment defaults will be a bigger blip on the radar screen than sub-payments to jockeys if the drug test "excuse" is not confirmed by the Philly Racing Commission.

[sq764]

Linrom1, why do you care less if the jockeys get stiffed?

[Secretariat]

PA Tracks are in trouble. With the election of Gov. Rendell there was significant anticipation that slots would soon be in racetracks around the state competing with DEL and CT. The State house has delayed this propositin over and over. PHA has contended during hearings that it desperately needs this money to compete.

PA has one of the highest Trifecta takeouts in the country. and with simulcasting, many bettors simply are now betting out of state. The PA legislature doesn't get it as they are in a deficit situation with the state budget (thanks to former Governor Tom Ridge), and have just passed a bill to raise the state income tax level. Rendell has promised property tax relief and school releif, but it is contigent on slots at the tracks. One of the sticking points is the takeout the state wants from the slots, and this has led to a stalemate thus far.

Penn National has diversified and is in better shape, but its on track handle is very poor, and is reliant on its ventures out of state such as at CT and casinos/riverboats. PHA situation is even worse.

PHA used to be a much higher structure track than DEL, but the slots at DEL have lead to better horse flesh going there, and it is an inferior track now.

Personally, I wouldn't advise playing either track at the present time when you can get a much better takeout in NY.

[WINMANWIN]

Good points all around.The Jocks are gonna meet with track management Tuesday morning and this issue may be settled.
The take out at Phila maybe Higher than other tracks, but the payoff's especially in Exacta bets, have been better than average
Honestly speaking, I have always been a primary N.Y. circuit
player, but as we know, some races are not betable and
you must have other circuits to explore. I've found most Philly
cards to be full fields with good prices. I did notice the cards for MON and tomorrow, are not really full fields and appear to be chalky, but I have done O.K. catching some nice exotic bets.
I have seen 2 chalks run 1st and 2nd many times and the exacta's
come back in the high 20's and 30's, not that I like chalk, but
sometimes its a 2 steed race and if you get Exotics that pay handsomely like that, All you need to do is bet That race and make a sizable profit for the day. My point is, the racing is Adequate, and Prices can be Sniffed. Aqueduct's inner dirt cards are better this year, with more horses on the grounds, and new races written, but in years past, I wish I found Philly sooner..
;)