14 riders bow to crop rule, will ride Monmouth opening day

The opening-day program at Monmouth Park, which was in doubt due to new restrictive riding-crop rules in New Jersey that some jockeys find unacceptable, attracted 45 horses over six races with 14 jockeys named to ride.

Friday's card was drawn after lengthy negotiations between jockeys and Monmouth Park management. At issue is a new rule enacted by the New Jersey Racing Commission that bans use of the riding crop except for safety purposes. Led by The Jockeys' Guild, which is taking legal action to try and remove or amend the rule, many riders believe such a restrictive rule is unsafe in its own right. Perennial Monmouth Park leading jockey Joe Bravo and Antonio Gallardo are among a handful of prominent jockeys who will not ride due to the rule.

The featured $100,000 Jersey Derby, which drew a field of nine including one main-track only, has three horses entered without a named rider: Indian Lake for Jamie Ness; Hot Blooded for trainer Carlos David; and Pickin' Time, who is main-track only, for Kelly Breen. 

Agent Steve Worsley represents both Gallardo and Jose Ferrer. While Gallardo will not ride at Monmouth this summer, Ferrer is named to ride in three of the six races Friday. Worsley noted the jockeys' "difficult situation" is due to the new crop rule. 

“Everyone is in a bad spot here,” Worsley said. “None of the jocks that ride here on a regular basis want to see this place fail. You are talking about a lot people who you consider friends that could lose their jobs over this. It’s just a difficult situation for everyone.

“For Jose, he’s had a lot of success at Monmouth and is friends with the people that make a living here. He wants to do what he thinks is best," Worsley continued. "(Gallardo) made the decision he’s not going to ride. I work for both of those guys and support them 100 percent whatever they decide.”

[Related: Monmouth Park conflict with jockeys goes down to the wire]

To fill the rider void, several lower-profile jockeys received mounts on opening day. They include Derbe Glass, who according to Equibase statistics had two previous mounts in 2019 with one winner; Jorge Panaijo, who is 0-for-6 this season; and Jose Baez, who is 2-for-22 on the year.

Terry Meyocks, president and CEO of The Guild, said the organization remains steadfast in its opposition to the crop rule.

"I don’t know what all went down... but I do know that some jocks decided to ride, they felt pressure by the racetrack, while other jocks feel it is still not safe to ride," Meyocks said. "The Guild has not changed its position on this matter. This rule is dangerous, and you can put that all capitals.”

Friday's twilight program has a first post of 5 p.m. EDT. Entries for Saturday's card, headlined by the $100,000 Mr. Prospector for dirt sprinters, will be taken on Wednesday.