Jimmy Edwards sat hunched over in his plane seat on the way home from the Breeders' Cup last month, furiously writing his column for the Jockey News, the bimonthly publication of the Jockeys' Guild.
He said it was "all part of the job" as local manager for the Middle Atlantic region of the national riders' organization.
But the outrage Edwards felt toward Churchill Downs and the Breeders' Cup management for not allowing the jockeys on Breeders' Cup day to honor 47 disabled riders by wearing a numerical emblem was evident.
Every other phrase seemed to read: "Shame On You."
"It was really edited down," Edwards said the other day after his column appeared. But the former jockey's fervor on the subject of health and pension benefits for retired jockeys has not subsided.
"Levelheaded, cool, patient" were all adjectives used to describe Edwards' riding style when he campaigned for 17 years on the New Jersey, Maryland and Florida circuits, winning 2,057 races, his share of stakes and twice riding six winners on one card.
But the 36-year-old Marylander, who lives with his wife Jeanine near Fair Hill, is now in the forefront of a crusade to gain increased health and life insurance coverage for jockeys as one of the right-hand men of the guild's national manager, John Giovanni.
What makes Edwards so angry?
"Getting the daily phone calls from jockeys who have fallen through the cracks and don't have the money to pay for decent medical coverage or to meet daily living expenses because they are disabled," Edwards said. "Our funds that we provide through the Jockeys' Guild are so limited, bare-bones stuff.
"I talk to athletes in other sports and they are shocked that 33 states in this country have a cap of $50,000 on the amount of workmen's compensation insurance that is provided to jockeys. Maryland, fortunately, is one of the five enlightened states that provides full workmen's comp coverage. But there is just so much need out there from jockeys that can't get the kind of assistance they require.
"During my career, I fractured my elbow, a wrist and a collarbone, as well as having numerous concussions -- and I'm one of the lucky ones. There are other jockeys out there that are so beat up when they finish riding that they can't qualify for any kind of health or life insurance benefits at all."
When the guild's board of directors meets, probably this week, to discuss the latest proposal from the Thoroughbred Racing Associations to double the cap on workmen's compensation and increase other benefits, Edwards said his primary thoughts won't be on the sale of the jockeys' media rights or whether or not riders should be regarded as independent contractors and exempt from those conditions.
Instead, it will be on what he considers a more fundamental premise: the sport's obligation to take care of its athletes.
"There's no question the riders have been exploited and treated like second-class citizens," Edwards said. "All sorts of unions are out there pounding on our doors and asking us to unionize. Maybe it's time that we should. The riders who are leading this fight, people like Jerry Bailey and Chris McCarron, aren't doing it for themselves. They will be well-provided for. They are doing it for their brothers and sisters."
Appeal filed against Va. decision
Jim Wilson, who was turned down by the Virginia Racing Commission in his quest to open a racetrack near Manassas, last Friday filed a 30-page appeal of the board's decision in Richmond Circuit Court.
Lawrence H. Framme III, Wilson's attorney, had informed the commission a month ago of his client's desire to appeal. Framme charges that "the linchpin" in the commission's decision to award the track franchise to Arnold Stansley was based on Maryland Jockey Club operator Joe De Francis' ability to supply Stansley's track with Maryland-based thoroughbreds.
"There is no evidence to support this finding," Framme said. "There is no binding agreement between Stansley and De Francis. Somewhere the commission secretly adopted the absolute condition that the successful applicant must embrace a Maryland-Virginia circuit. The only thing is, they forgot to inform the other applicants."
De Francis said that Wilson and Framme's charges are "utterly ridiculous."
By the end of the week, a total of 1,000 to 1,200 owners, breeders and trainers will have turned out at Laurel at a series of De Francis-hosted dinners to hear about plans for the Virginia track.
The commission has 21 days to respond to the appeal.
Commission studies interactive betting
The Maryland Racing Commission will receive a preview at its regular monthly meeting at Timonium on Wednesday on how an interactive television home wagering experiment will work next month when it is tested in 25 Baltimore County homes.
Laurel/Pimlico co-owner Karin De Francis and her newly promoted assistant, Lois Ryan, in the tracks' Hospitality Services Department, are in charge of selecting the 25 test homes.
The experiment is being conducted by Laurel/Pimlico in conjunction with On Demand Services, an independent company spun off from the United Video Satellite Group. ODS is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla.
In the initial phase of the experiment home viewers will be able to watch the daily live card from Laurel and place bets by using a remote control device hooked to their television set.
Arlington closing causes "shudder"
When Joe De Francis learned last week that Arlington International Racecourse in Chicago would be closing its doors in 1995 because of competition from riverboat casinos in Illinois, "It was probably the most terrifying and alarming development I've read about since I started running a racetrack," he said.
"I cannot believe that it has not gotten more attention in the media than it has received. To me, it is like a facility like Camden Yards shutting down.
"When Dick Duchossis, the track's owner, rebuilt the track after a devastating fire several years ago, he spared no expense and made it one of the most opulent tracks in the world. They have also done a brilliant job of marketing the sport there. Arlington is probably the only track in America where more than 50 percent of the clientele are women.
"So what happens to what is regarded as one of the sport's
brightest success stories? It closes. If that doesn't send a shudder through the industry, then I don't know what will."