This situation with the scale of weights has been going on for a very long time. People are bigger now, on average, and so are jockeys, so the weight is a problem and a health risk. What the jockeys did today was necessary because NYRA is in New York State, and in New York, things change very slowly. The tracks have to get state approval for just about everything and the politicians drag their feet.
Here's an article about this subject, written by Bill Finley, which was published in the NY Daily News 18 years ago.
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/...ticle-1.892159
