Current through Supplement No. 394, October, 2024
1.
Eligibility.
a. Jockeys.
(1) No person under sixteen years of age will
be licensed by the commission as a jockey.
(2) The stewards may require that any jockey
pass a physical examination and may refuse to allow any jockey to ride until
such jockey successfully completes such examination.
(3) A jockey may not be an owner or trainer
of any racehorse.
(4) A license may
not be granted until the applicant has successfully completed two rides under a
provisional license of the commission and has been approved by the
starter.
(5) Whenever a jockey from
a foreign country, excluding Mexico and Canada, rides in the United States,
such jockey must declare that he or she is a holder of a valid license and
currently not under suspension. To facilitate this process, the jockey shall
present a declaration sheet to the commission. The sheet must state:
(a) That the jockey is the holder of a valid
license to ride;
(b) That the
jockey is not currently under suspension; and
(c) That the jockey agrees to be bound by the
rules of the commission.
This sheet must be retained by the commission and at the
conclusion of the jockey's participation in racing, it must be returned to the
jockey, properly endorsed by the commission, stating that the jockey has not
incurred any penalty or had a fall. If a penalty has been assessed against the
jockey, the appropriate racing official shall notify the racing authority
issuing the original license to extend the penalty for the same period of
time.
b. Apprentice jockeys.
(1) A contract with a horse owner to provide
apprentice jockey services, or an apprentice certificate from the stewards must
be presented to the commission to be licensed.
(2) The conditions in subdivision a of
subsection 1 with regard to jockeys also apply to apprentice jockeys.
2.
Jockeys'
fees.
a. Track management shall have
the authority to set the jockey mount fee.
b. Schedule. The minimum fee to jockeys must
be in all races as follows:
|
Purse
|
Win
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Unplaced |
|
$400 and under
|
$27
|
$19
|
$17
|
$16
|
|
$500
|
30
|
20
|
17
|
16
|
|
$600
|
36
|
22
|
17
|
16
|
|
$700 -
|
$900
|
10%
|
25
|
22
|
20
|
|
$1,000 -
|
$1,400
|
10%
|
30
|
25
|
22
|
|
$1,500 -
|
$1,900
|
10%
|
35
|
30
|
28
|
|
$2,000 -
|
$3,400
|
10%
|
45
|
35
|
33
|
|
$3,500 -
|
$4,900
|
10%
|
55
|
45
|
35
|
|
$5,000 -
|
$9,900
|
10%
|
65
|
50
|
40
|
|
$10,000 -
|
$14,900
|
10%
|
5%
|
5%
|
45
|
|
$15,000 -
|
$24,900
|
10%
|
5%
|
5%
|
50
|
|
$25,000 -
|
$49,900
|
10%
|
5%
|
5%
|
60
|
|
$50,000 -
|
$99,900
|
10%
|
5%
|
5%
|
75
|
|
$100,000 and up
|
10%
|
5%
|
5%
|
100
|
c.
Entitlement. Any apprentice or contract jockey is entitled to the regular
jockey fees, except when riding a horse owned in part or solely by such
jockey's contractholder An interest in the winnings only (such as trainer's
percent) does not constitute ownership.
d. Fee earned. A jockey's fee must be
considered earned when the jockey is weighed out by the clerk of scales. The
fee may not be considered earned if the jockey, of the jockey's own free will,
takes himself or herself off of the jockey's mount, where injury to the horse
or rider is not involved. Any conditions or considerations not covered by the
above ruling must be at the discretion of the stewards.
e. Multiple engagements. If any owner or
trainer engages two or more jockeys for the same race, the owner or trainer is
required to pay each of the jockeys whether the jockey rides in the race or
not.
f. Dead heats. Jockeys
finishing a race in a dead heat shall divide equally the totals they
individually would have received had one jockey won the race alone. The owners
of the horses finishing in the dead heat shall pay equal shares of the jockey
fees.
3.
Apprentice subject to jockey rules. Unless excepted under these
rules, apprentice jockeys are subject to all commission rules governing the
conduct of jockeys and racing.
4.
Apprentice allowances.
a. An
apprentice jockey shall ride with a five-pound [2.27-kilogram] weight allowance
beginning with the apprentice jockey's first mount and for one full year from
the date of the apprentice jockey's fifth winning mount.
b. If after riding one full year from the
date of the apprentice jockey's fifth winning mount, the apprentice jockey has
failed to ride a total of forty winners from the date of the apprentice
jockey's first winning mount, the apprentice jockey shall continue to ride with
a five-pound [2.27-kilogram] weight allowance for one more year from the date
of the apprentice jockey's fifth winning mount or until the apprentice jockey
has ridden a total of forty winners, whichever comes first.
c. If an apprentice jockey is unable to ride
for a period of fourteen consecutive days or more after the date of the
apprentice jockey's fifth winning mount because of service in the armed forces
of the United States of America, or because of physical disablement, the
commission may extend the time during which such apprentice weight allowance
may be claimed for a period not to exceed the period such apprentice jockey was
unable to ride.
5.
Conduct.
a. Clothing and
appearance. A jockey shall wear the standard colors for the post position of
the horse the jockey is riding, except as otherwise ordered or permitted by the
commission or stewards, and shall also wear the number of the saddlecloth
corresponding to the number given in the racing program. A jockey shall
maintain a neat and clean appearance while engaged in the jockey's duties on
association premises and shall wear a clean jockey costume, cap, helmet (as
approved by commission), a jacket, breeches, and top boots.
b. Competing against contractor. No jockey
may ride in any race against a starting horse belonging to the jockey's
contract employer unless the jockey's mount and the contract employer's horse
are both trained by the same trainer.
c. Competing against spouse. No jockey may
compete in any race against any horse which is owned or trained by the jockey's
spouse.
d. Confined to jockey room.
A jockey who is engaged to ride a race shall report to the scaleroom on the day
of the race at the time designated by association officials. The jockey shall
then report the jockey's engagements and any overweight to the clerk of
scales.
e. Jockey betting. A jockey
may only be allowed to wager on a race in which the jockey is riding if:
(1) The jockey's owner or trainer makes the
wager for the jockey; and
(2) The
jockey only wagers on his or her own mount to win or in combination with other
horses in multiple bets.
f. Whip prohibited. No jockey may use a whip
on a two-year-old horse before April first of each year.
g. Spurs prohibited. No jockey may use
spurs.
h. Possessing drugs or
devices. No jockey may have in the jockey's care, control, or custody any drugs
or prohibited substances or any electrical or mechanical device that could
affect a horse's racing performance.
6.
Jockey effort. A jockey shall
exert every effort to ride the jockey's horse to the finish in the best and
fastest run of which the horse is capable. No jockey may ease up or coast to a
finish, without adequate cause, as determined by the stewards, even if the
horse has no apparent chance to win prize money.
7.
Duty to fulfill engagements.
Every jockey shall fulfill such jockey's duly scheduled riding engagements,
unless excused by the stewards. No jockey may be forced to ride a horse the
jockey believes to be unsound, nor over a racing strip the jockey believes to
be unsafe, but if the stewards find a jockey's refusal to fulfill a riding
engagement is based on personal belief unwarranted by the facts and
circumstances, such jockey may be subject to disciplinary action. The jockey is
responsible to the jockey's agent for any engagements previously secured by
said agent.
8.
Riding
interference.
a. Interference. When the
way is clear in a race, a horse may be ridden to any part of the course, but
may not weave nor cross in front of other contenders so as to interfere with
their course or threaten their safety.
b. Jostling. No jockey may jostle another
horse or jockey. No jockey may strike another horse or jockey or ride so
carelessly as to cause injury or possible injury to another horse in the
race.
c. Partial fault - Third
party interference. If a horse or jockey interferes with or jostles another
horse, the aggressor may be disqualified, unless the interfered or jostled
horse or jockey was partly at fault or the infraction was wholly caused by the
fault of some other horse or jockey.
9.
Jockey weighed out.
a. A jockey must wear a safety vest when
riding in any official race. A safety vest shall weigh no more than two pounds
[.91 kilogram] and be designed to provide shock-absorbing protection to the
upper body of at least a rating of five as defined by the British equestrian
trade association.
b. Each jockey
must be weighed for his or her assigned horse not more than thirty minutes
before the time fixed for the race. Any jockey weighing more than four pounds
[1.81 kilograms] over the highest weight stated in the published conditions may
be weighed only once prior to the first scheduled race.
c. A jockey's weight must include his or her
clothing, saddle, girth, pad, and saddle cloth.
d. A jockey's weight does not include the
number cloth, whip, head number, bridle, bit or reins, blinkers, helmet, tongue
strap, tongue tie, muzzle, hood, noseband, shadow roll, martingale, breast
plate, bandages, boots, and racing plates or shoes.
e. If a jockey weighs less than the required
condition weight, the clerk of scales shall require the jockey to add extra
weight until they meet the minimum weight.
10.
Overweight limited. No
jockey may weigh more than two pounds [.91 kilogram] over the weight the
jockey's horse is assigned to carry unless with consent of the owner or trainer
and unless the jockey has declared the amount of overweight to the clerk of the
scales at least forty-five minutes before the start of the race. All weights
over published conditions must be announced to the public.
11.
Weigh in - Unsaddling. Upon
completion of a race, each jockey shall ride promptly to the winners circle and
dismount. The jockey shall then present himself or herself to the clerk of
scales to be weighed in. If a jockey is prevented from riding his or her mount
to the winner's circle because of accident or illness either to the jockey or
to the jockey's horse, the jockey may walk or be carried to the scales unless
excused by the stewards.
a. Unsaddling. Each
jockey upon completion of a race shall return to the winner's circle and shall
unsaddle his or her horse, unless excused by the stewards.
b. Removing horse's equipment. No person
except the valet-attendant for each mount is permitted to assist the jockey in
removing the horse's equipment that is included in the jockey's weight, unless
the stewards permit otherwise. To weigh in, each jockey shall carry to the
scales all pieces of equipment with which the jockey weighed out. Thereafter,
the jockey may hand the equipment to the valet-attendant.
c. Underweight. When any horse places first,
second, or third in a race, or is coupled in any form of multiple exotic
wagering, and thereafter the horse's jockey is weighed in short by more than
two pounds [.91 kilogram] of the weight of which the jockey was weighed out,
the jockey's mount may be disqualified and all purse moneys
forfeited.
d. Overweight. No jockey
may be weighed in more than two pounds [.91 kilogram] over the jockey's
declared weight, but consideration must be given for excess weight caused by
rain or mud. If the jockey is overweight, the jockey's mount may be
disqualified and all purse moneys forfeited.
12.
Contracts.
a. Jockey contracts. A jockey may contract
with an owner or trainer to furnish jockey services whenever the owner shall
require, and in that event a jockey may not ride or agree to ride in any race
for any other person without the consent of the owner or trainer to whom the
jockey is under contract.
b.
Apprentice contracts and transfers.
(1) Owners
or trainers and apprentices who are parties to contracts for apprentice jockey
services shall file a copy of the contract with the commission, upon forms
approved by the commission, and shall, upon any transfer, assignment, or
amendment of the contract, immediately furnish a copy thereof to the
commission.
(2) No apprentice
jockey may ride for a licensed owner or agent unless with the consent of the
apprentice's contract employer.
c. Contract condition. No person other than
an owner, trainer, jockey agent, or authorized agent of an owner in good
standing may make engagements for an apprentice jockey or jockey. However, a
jockey not represented by an agent may make his or her own
engagements.
13.
Jockey fines and forfeitures. A jockey shall pay any fine or
forfeiture from the jockey's own funds within forty-eight hours of the
imposition of the fine or forfeiture. No other person may pay jockey fines or
forfeitures for the jockey.
14.
Competing claims. Whenever two or more licensees claim the
services of one jockey for a race, first call shall have priority and any
dispute must be resolved by the stewards.
15.
Jockey suspension.
a. Offenses involving fraud. Suspension of a
licensee for an offense involving fraud or deception of the public or another
participant in racing shall begin immediately after the ruling unless otherwise
ordered by the stewards or commission.
b. Offenses not involving fraud. Suspension
for an offense not involving fraud or deception of the public or another
participant in racing shall begin on the third day after the ruling.
c. Withdrawal of appeal. Withdrawal by the
appellant of a notice of appeal filed with the commission whenever imposition
of the disciplinary action has been stayed or enjoined pending a final decision
by the commission must be deemed a frivolous appeal and referred to the
commission for further disciplinary action in the event the appellant fails to
show good cause to the stewards why such withdrawal should not be deemed
frivolous.
16.
Association valet-attendant. No jockey may have a valet-attendant
except one provided and paid for by the association.
17.
Jockey agent.
a. No jockey may have more than one
agent.
b. All engagements to ride
other than those for the jockey's contract employer must be made by the
agent.
c. No revocation of a
jockey's agent authority is effective until the jockey notifies the stewards in
writing of the revocation of the agent's authority.
General Authority: NDCC 53-06.2-04,
53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10
Law Implemented: NDCC 53-06.2-01, 53-06.2-04,
53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10
