Cliff WilliamsTHE ISSUE of the rates increase for riders and grooms seems to have the inevitable contentious sticking points naturally associated with all such negotiations.
Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC) chairman Rudolph Muir has made the regulatory body's position clear, giving an emphatic indication that the increases have been approved and that as far as he is concerned that is an end to the matter.
President of the Jamaica Race-horse Trainers Association (JRTA), Vincent Edwards, has a different position entirely based on what he claims to be the owners' inability to meet the new financial demands.
According to Muir, jockeys and exercise riders have been underpaid for a very long time and the time has come for this category of professionals to enjoy a higher standard of living.
NEGOTIATION INCOMPLETE
This maybe all well said and good, but such a stance has to be examined against the background of the claim by the trainers association president that as far as he is concerned the negotiation was still incomplete.
I will not bother to bore readers with the details of the numbers at this time, but what is clear is that the majority of jockeys and grooms do not make a decent living from known income.
Truth be told though, in the racing industry the system of remuneration is not similar to other sporting enterprises and in fact it is quite unique in how successful professionals are rewarded.
Thirty per cent of all purses is withheld from owners to be distributed at a rate of 15 per cent to trainers, 10 per cent to jockeys and five per cent to grooms. As I understand it this commission rate was devised to ensure that the professionals retain the prospect of earning a decent living, but also as a means lessening the incidents of corrupt practices.
Incidentally, these commission rates are well in excess of what generally prevails elsewhere in the world and seems to take into account, quite legitimately, that full time professionals are needed in the racetrack operations.
For example, in fully professional jurisdictions grooms are salaried employees and get no commission from purses, but in Jamaica they virtually enjoy both. The 15 per cent for trainers and 10 per cent for jockeys is unheard of in North America and the United Kingdom and would be considered outrageous in a regime where racing is a seven-day a week activity. In Jamaica it is not therefore compensation for the professionals and it has to reflect this fact.
EQUINE POPULATION
In the industry here in Jamaica, there is an equine population for racing of less than 1,000 thoroughbreds participating in around 90 race meetings annually
Realistically this has rendered the promotion of live racing short of being fully professional although it requires full time staffing for effective regulation and race track operations, as well as grooms and riders who are not engaged otherwise.
In one important aspect trainers are a little different in that it is quite possible for these licencees to be engaged in other commercial activities or to hold full-time employment elsewhere.
There is no question that some compromise will be reached on the issue of increased remuneration for the riders and the grooms, but one sure impact of this is that the owners will be intensifying their lobby for the overdue purse increase.
