NYTHA Announces Workers’ Comp Premium Drop for 2019

[Wandering Eyes]

The New York Jockey Injury Compensation Fund (NYJICF) has released its 2019 Workers’ Compensation Premium Assessment and Formula, and the initial base payment for horsemen stabled at the New York Racing Association tracks will decrease by 17%, according to an announcement from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Monday. The initial base payment this year will be $1,250, down from $1,500 in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This is the first base payment reduction ever for the NYJICF, which provides workers’ compensation insurance for jockeys and exercise riders in New York.

The fee for shippers has also been reduced. For 2019, owners and trainers shipping in to race at NYRA tracks will be charged $125 each per start for their first 10 starts, for a maximum of $1,250 for the year. Last year, the fee was $250 per start for the first six starts, a total of $1,500. One additional change was made to the fee schedule. The flat fee for Saratoga, both during the meet and during the spring and fall training sessions, has been eliminated. Trainers stabled at Saratoga will pay the same $1.60 per stall fee as those stabled at Aqueduct and Belmont Park.

“The NYJICF has been working diligently with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the New York State Gaming Commission, the New York Racing Association, the Finger Lakes Racing Association and FLHBPA, and our state legislators to find ways to cut the cost of workers’ compensation,” said Joe Appelbaum, president of the NYJICF and NYTHA. “We have also put in place programs to help offset the burden on our owners and trainers. Our job is far from done, but we are trending in the right direction. We believe that our collective efforts will continue to drive down the cost of doing business in New York.”

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