Victoria’s thoroughbred owners could be slugged an extra $5 million a year in training fees if all jumpouts were converted to official barrier trials, the state’s governing body says.
Responding to the Victorian Jockeys Association’s (VJA) threat to withdraw members’ services at jumpouts, Racing Victoria has urged the state’s riders to continue talks with owner and trainer representatives to find an amicable solution.
The VJA launched the strike action broadside on Tuesday, declaring jockeys were no longer prepared to participate for free at the jumpouts that often occur five days a week around the state.
The directive from the VJA, which is led by chief executive Matt Hyland and director and champion jockey Damian Lane, called on senior riders to stop riding in jumpouts at a suite of major training centres from this Sunday.
The impacted tracks are Flemington, Ballarat, Pakenham, Cranbourne, Caulfield, Mornington and Balnarring where figures show 17,000 of the 25,000 horses to jump out each year in Victoria takes place.
The unpaid labour performed at those centres by 80 per cent of VJA members, it argues, is worth more than $1.7 million annually.
About 20 per cent of jockeys have private agreements with stables to be paid for riding in jumpouts while apprentices are also exempt from the action as they are also paid by the trainers they are indentured to.
RV on Wednesday said that the principal racing authority pays jockeys $262.50 per race ride and $110 per official barrier trial ride under the collective bargaining agreement reached between it and the VJA.
“Separately, jumpouts are training and education tools used to prepare racehorses and are managed by race clubs who set and collect these fees,” an RV spokesperson said.
“The engagement of riders who participate in jumpouts and their payment is a matter between trainers and riders.
“RV supports the principle that all persons should be remunerated for work performed.
“In this instance, how and when these payments are made, and how those costs are passed on is a matter for trainers and owners.
“RV encourages the representatives of each of these groups to come to an agreement.”
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Senior jockeys are effectively self-employed, and privately some trainers have made the point that riding at the jumpouts is a “cost” of them doing business which in turn is compensated via the race riding fee and the additional prize money percentage of 5 per cent.
Trainers also warned that if the VJA’s push for its members to be directly compensated for riding at the regular jumpouts that it would be the lower-profile jockeys who would be disadvantaged the most.
That is because often, those so-called lesser jockeys are rewarded financially for their hard work at the jumpouts by owners and trainers who in exchange provide them with race rides.
However, if those jockeys are directly paid for riding in the jumpouts, there may be little reason for trainers to reciprocate their loyalty and instead they would likely book better jockeys to ride their horses in races.
RV has already increased the number of official barrier trials from 24 to 48 annually in various geographical areas. Each horse costs their owners $220 per barrier trial (not including transport costs) of which the jockey is paid $110 plus superannuation.
Tim Rowe
By comparison, Racing NSW stages far more official barrier trials, particularly at the Sydney metropolitan racecourses for which owners are charged $417.69 per horse.
It costs less to barrier trial a horse at the NSW provincial racecourses ($334.15) while the owners of horses trialling in the state’s country region are billed $262.98.
Jockeys in NSW are paid $91.87 per ride at non-race day trial sessions and $131.25 at raceday trials held before or after a race meeting, usually in the country region.
“The engagement of riders who participate in jumpouts and their payment is a matter between trainers and riders" - Racing Victoria
The VJA first raised the issue with RV in September. Hyland told The Straight on Tuesday that he had also been liaising with the Australian Trainers’ Association and TROA, the racehorse owners’ body, to reach a solution, that being that their members are paid for riding in jumpouts.
“To put that bluntly, based on the information we've got and based on the individual conversations we've had with members from one to 60, they're united, they're a pretty strong group, they're committed for the cause,” Hyland said.
It is argued by RV that, apart from the estimated $5 million cost of holding official barrier trials regularly across the state, it would place an extra burden on racecourses when they may be needed for race meetings or be undergoing crucial maintenance programs.
