Hochul Vetoes Measure to End NY Jockey Coupling Rule

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Oct. 25 vetoed a measure to end a wagering rule in New York State that put up a roadblock to married jockeys riding in the same race which became an issue highlighted earlier this year by jockeys Trevor McCarthy and Katie Davis.

While legislative sponsors called the rule "sexist and outdated,'' Hochul nixed the change to the state's gaming commission's rules that compelled horses ridden or trained by spouses to be coupled for the purposes of wagering.

The Democratic governor said the state's current and predecessor agency has had the rule in place for more than 35 years, and that tracks required such measures on their own long before that.

"The rule applies neutrally to all jockeys, without regard to gender, and is intended to enhance the wagering public's confidence in the integrity of a race,'' Hochul said in a veto message Monday night.

"Coupling of entries does not prevent related parties from participating in a race; rather, coupling of entries merely aggregates those related parties into a single betting interest in the race,'' she added.

The governor said that despite her veto, she is directing the state gaming commission to review the "continued need for mandatory coupling and the circumstances under which such a requirement might be relaxed" and to seek further input from the racing industry and public.

Davis and McCarthy highlighted the New York rule after moving from Maryland earlier this year to race at Aqueduct Racetrack. They had just gotten married. It meant the horses they rode in the same race would have to be coupled for wagering purposes.

The rule, according to the bill sponsors who crafted the change, required that horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, or member of a jockey's household had to be coupled if they ran in the same race. The same rule didn't apply, for instance, to brothers racing against each other.

The legislation, which passed unanimously earlier this year, was sponsored by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, a Democrat who represents Saratoga, and Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate racing, gaming, and wagering committee. 

The veto keeps alive the coupled entries' rule. The vetoed legislation would have required, without specifics, that tracks would have had to still take "such actions as are necessary to inform the public adequately with regard to the relationship between any such jockey or trainer." It did not specifically say what those steps must be.