NYRA to resume racing at Aqueduct despite dispute with jockeys
Horses take off during a race at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, Queens, on April 4. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez
After eight of Sunday’s nine races at Aqueduct were canceled following a jockey-led protest, live racing remains on schedule to return Thursday afternoon, NYRA confirmed to Newsday on Monday.
On Sunday, according to NYRA, the assistant clerk of scales “expressed reservations” about the added responsibility to include the written recording of weights following each race as a backup to the digital scale system. As a result, NYRA called on a substitute clerk, who was in place before post time.
NYRA said that after the conclusion of the first race of Sunday’s nine-race card, the jockeys, led by Kendrick Carmouche, called NYRA management to “presumably complain about the temporary replacement of the assistant clerk of scales.” During that conversation, according to NYRA, the jockeys raised “several unrelated issues,” including a rule that prevents family and friends from accessing the jockey's room.
“The jockeys are not responsible for managing NYRA personnel or determining the protocols necessary to maintain the security of the jockey’s room, which is defined as a restricted area by New York State Gaming Commission [NYSGC] rule,” NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna said in a statement to Newsday. “Several issues raised by the jockeys on Sunday ignore the realities of a system designed to protect the integrity of racing and avoid inherent conflicts of interest.”
NYRA said it tried to address the grievances as the horses were circling in the paddock before the second race, but the jockeys “decided to abandon” the remainder of Sunday’s program.
According to the Daily Racing Form, Carmouche said: “They are making [the assistant clerk of scales] do more than he’s supposed to and he said he wasn’t comfortable with doing that, so they sent him home and now they’re trying to put other people in his spot to make the races go and that’s just going to make things worse because they don’t know what they’re doing.”
In a statement, Jockey’s Guild President & CEO Terry Meyocks said: "This was an unfortunate event that impacted the owners, trainers and bettors who support NYRA throughout the year. Today’s meeting was an opportunity to turn the page, and we thank [NYRA CEO] David O’Rourke and his management team for their willingness to listen to the concerns of our membership and their commitment to a renewed level of communication with the riders."
Thursday’s eight-race card is scheduled to begin at 12:40 p.m.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
