A week before the Kentucky Derby, a number of the country’s top jockeys are considering boycotting media events for Churchill Downs after the track threatened to take them off their mounts or eject them from the racetrack if they violate its advertising policies.
Churchill, in a letter sent last week to jockeys named on the expected Derby starters in Saturday’s race, also threatened to fire the jockeys’ valets — who help them change silks between races — if the jockeys wear advertising conflicting with Churchill’s many sponsors.
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| President Steve Sexton says Churchill Downs will protect current sponsors like Visa from competing advertising. |
“I hope this doesn’t backfire in horse racing’s face,” said Shane Sellers, a jockey who is named on one of the Derby favorites, The Cliff’s Edge. “How would they like it if I said, ‘I don’t want you to use my face; I don’t want you to use my likeness.’”
Kelly Wietsma, a marketing agent who represents Sellers and four other Derby jockeys, said, “[The jockeys] are all so upset right now. Our feeling is, ‘Why should we do anything to help [Churchill Downs] when they have thrown mud in our faces?’”
Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton said, “We need to protect the people who have invested in the sport, people like Visa, who have been good sponsors.”
Some jockeys took offense to the letter, especially since they have been in behind-the-scenes talks with Sexton for several weeks about the possibility of wearing advertising during the sport’s biggest race. Jockeys and Wietsma said that Churchill had been optimistic that the jockeys could make deals for themselves as long as the companies they were advertising did not compete with Churchill sponsors.
Sellers said he told Sexton two weeks ago that he was talking to a major beer company about a sponsorship for the Derby. “[Sexton] said, ‘If I was your agent, I would tell you to go out and get a sponsor,’” Sellers said.
Sexton said he told Sellers that “If I were your agent I would continue to talk to [potential sponsors],” but that he also told Sellers that the new Kentucky Horse Racing Authority would soon be issuing rules on jockey advertising and that the jockeys would have to adhere to those rules.
On April 19, the authority, which new Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher created to replace the old Kentucky Racing Commission, issued a ruling that jockeys could not wear any advertising or logos and that jockeys who violated that policy would be “severely” punished. A spokesman from the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, which oversees the racing authority, said there would be no comments about the ruling. Jim Host, founder of Host Communications and a member of the racing authority board, also declined comment.
Churchill sent a letter to the jockeys the next day stating that “Advertising restrictions also apply to jockeys’ family members and agents in the following areas: Paddock, Winner’s Circle and Presentation Stand.”
Jockey John Velazquez, who is riding Pollard’s Vision in the Derby, wondered whether his kids could wear a baseball cap at the Derby. “They want to have complete control of everything,” he said. “I am outraged.”
Reigning jockey of the year Jerry Bailey said, “Right now there is not a good taste in my mouth. I think they are doing the wrong thing for racing. We want to get new revenue and sponsors who want to get in the game. Churchill Downs is, in effect, shutting them down.”
Bailey questioned why Churchill would punish valets, who are employed by the track but get tips from jockeys.
Sexton said, “If a valet carries a cap or [anything with] advertising to the winner’s circle, that would be grounds for dismissal.” He said valets would not be punished if jockeys wore advertising without the valet’s assistance.
The letter states that Churchill could take action if the jockey violates the racing authority’s rule against advertising or Churchill’s rule prohibiting advertising for companies that compete with Churchill’s sponsors. But Sexton indicated that was incorrect and said he planned to clarify it with the jockeys.
Sexton explained that Churchill would take action only if the jockeys wore ads in competition with sponsors of the track or Triple Crown Production. That list includes companies such as Visa, Papa John’s Pizza, Coors and Pepsi.
As to why Churchill threatened to take jockeys off their mounts or eject them from the track, Churchill spokeswoman Julie Koenig said, “If we stated the fine would be $500, do you think that would be a big enough deterrent?”
Some jockeys were fined $500 last year by the Kentucky Racing Commission for wearing Jockeys Guild patches on their pants. The jockeys challenged the fine in court in a lawsuit that is still active. A group of jockeys a week and a half ago asked a federal court for permission to wear the patches again this year. At press time for this story, no decision had been announced.
The five jockeys represented by Wietsma have retained Louisville attorney Ron Sheffer to review their legal rights to wear advertising on their pants.
