The Jockey Club Steward - NYRA Racetracks

Key responsibilities

• Occupies the stewards’ stand during live racing, communicating with other racing officials, mutuels, and tote departments to adhere to broadcast racing schedule and communicate delays, scratches, and changes.
• Conducts inquiries into interference and other racing incidents and with a panel of three determines the extent of disqualification.
• May be required to explain decisions on air or in writing.
• Confers with placing judges and teletimer regarding photo finishes and official timing of races.
• Conducts film review with jockeys.
• May be required to assembles, verifies, and disseminates scratches.
• Reviews entries for eligibility.
• Monitors safety steward communications regarding horses of interest and general safety matters and provides recommendations and follow-up.
• Meets with colleagues and racing operations personnel to discuss ongoing racing matters and matters of concern regarding licensees.
• Reviews alleged rule infractions and provides recommendations to state stewards regarding civil penalties.
• Maintains data pertaining to racing and training fatalities, void claims, and veterinarians’ list rates and records end-of-meet statistics.
• Some committee work, domestic and international.

In addition, manages Silks and Stable Name Registry

• Oversees silks and stable name registry office
• Reviews daily entries, stakes nominations, and horses on track for compliance
• Maintains spreadsheet with substitute silks rental fees and provides to bookkeeper
• Approves requests for exceptions
• Provides lists of new registrations to NYSGC office and NYRA ownership/registry
• Liaises with colors room and ownership/registry staff
• Responds to inquiries from Weatherby’s, the National Racing Compact, and other authorities regarding registrations
• Supervises authorized claiming agent process
• Provides support to Finger Lakes office

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities  

• The equivalent of two years of full-time experience which involved working directly with the pari-mutuel horse racing industry as a racing official, such as a placing judge, paddock judge, racing secretary, clerk of scales, steward, assistant steward, or other racing official that involved interpreting rules of horse racing and making judgments or the equivalent of five years of full-time experience in the pari-mutuel horse racing industry in a non-official capacity that still involved interpreting the rules of horse racing, such as jockey, trainer, owner or closely related occupation.

Education and Experience

• Accreditation is required for this position and requires horse racing stewards to be accredited by the Racing Officials Accreditation Program in association with the Universities of Arizona and Louisville.

Required Certification/License

•  Must be able to obtain New York State Racing Commission License