Title 9 Part 4064

Persons who have never ridden for hire and who are not otherwise disqualified under this Article are regarded as amateur riders, subject to section 4064.2 of this Article, and must make application in writing annually to the commission for a license. A license granted shall be good for one year from April 1 in the year in which granted, but such license may be revoked or suspended at any time by the commission.

After an amateur rider has ridden six races in any one year, either steeplechase or flat, under recognized rules in any country, such rider may be required to appear before the stewards of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association to determine such rider’s eligibility to continue to ride as an amateur rider, and the stewards may require a rider to appear before them again at any future time.

Professional hunt servants, grooms, apprentices, stable lads and persons who are or have been employed with pay in any capacity in private, hunting, racing, showing, livery or horsedealers' stables, as well as persons who have ever received payment, directly or indirectly, for riding are regarded as having ridden for hire and are professional riders for the purposes of this Article.

Wherever the words rider or jockey appear, they shall be deemed equivalent to the term amateur rider.

Amateur riders and jockeys are prohibited from smoking while in racing colors.

Permission may be given, under exceptional circumstances and on special application, to a jockey holding a license as such, to own one or more horses, but this permission will only be granted by the commission when a jockey is also a trainer and the horse is trained by such jockey in such jockey’s own stable.

On special application and under exceptional circumstances, a license to train may be granted to a jockey holding a license as such, to train for one or more owners. When so licensed as a trainer, a jockey shall not be permitted to ride any other horses except those trained by himself or herself.

On special application and under exceptional circumstances, a license to train may be granted to an amateur rider only to train horses owned by such rider and members of such rider’s immediate family, without affecting his or her standing as such rider. When so licensed as a trainer, he or she shall not be permitted to ride any other horses except those he or she trained.

For the purpose of sections 4064.7 and 4064.8, a trainer is one who has had the horse or horses under his or her care and supervision for at least 14 consecutive days prior to the race.

At meetings held by hunt and similar organizations, a rider holding the above special permission to train may ride horses other than those under his or her control or supervision as trainer, but when a horse trained by a rider is entered in a race, such rider shall not be permitted to ride any other horse entered in the same race, except by permission of the stewards and only for a reason in keeping with the best interests of racing.

The terms of all contracts between jockeys and their employers shall be filed with and approved by the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association before a license is granted; and such contracts may contain a provision that in case a jockey's license is revoked or suspended, the salary of the jockey in the case of a revocation shall cease, and in the case of a suspension shall cease during the time of such suspension.