Velazquez follows NFL’s lead on CTE

John Velazquez, racing’s latest member of the Club 6000, says he hasn’t suffered a concussion during the past decade, but with the gift of hindsight he now remembers clearly the symptoms that either were ignored or misunderstood following the crashes of his first 18 years in the saddle.

“There were the headaches, the dizziness, the blurred vision – everything that goes with it,” Velazquez said. “Back then, you’d have your headache for a couple of days and just go on. Now it’s totally different.”

Velazquez, speaking from Florida, had recently returned from the annual assembly of the Jockeys’ Guild in Las Vegas, where one of the most significant topics of discussion was the ongoing effort to deal with the dangers of concussions sustained by riders. On this issue, the Guild has attached itself to the coattails of the National Football League, which has taken serious steps to deal with the dangers of concussion-related chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease most often associated with athletes and military personnel.

The Guild has joined with the NFL-inspired After the Impact organization to steer at-risk members toward diagnosis and treatment for a disease that can manifest itself in severe depression and suicide.

“We knew of a number of our members who were showing signs of depression, addiction, people talking about committing suicide,” said Terry Meyocks, the Guild’s national manager.

“After a jockey from New Zealand committed suicide a few years ago, one of our members posted on social media, ‘You’ll be talking about me next,’ ” Meyocks said. “That’s frightening, and depressing. We’ve tried to steer them toward After the Impact, but sometimes they refuse. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the disease.”

Meyocks noted that there are currently 14 Guild members who have entered into the After the Impact program, which has received funding from The Stronach Group. In the meantime, the Guild continues to urge racetracks and racing commissions to implement concussion protocols that protect jockeys, basically, from themselves, and from their innate drive to get back in the saddle at all costs.

“It’s a bigger picture than people think,” Meyocks said, echoing the same theme heard as concussions became a serious issue in the NFL. “You can certainly make a case that it should be funded industry wide.”

Velazquez, who entered the Hall of Fame in 2012, turned 47 on Nov. 24. He became chairman of the Guild’s board of directors in late 2005 following the dismissal of then CEO Wayne Gertmenian, whose controversial management of the Guild had come under Congressional scrutiny.

The ensuing decade witnessed a chastened Guild claw back to credibility under Velazquez and Meyocks, while keeping the pressure on such issues as insurance coverage, safety equipment, veterinary inspections, track maintenance, and sponsorships. Even so, Velazquez noted that the current jockey population is perhaps not as engaged as it should be.

“I’d like to see them asking more questions, paying more attention,” Velazquez said. “Maybe they think they have it too easy, but they can’t just sit back and watch. They have to learn what’s going on for their own futures.”

To that end, the Guild adjusted and expanded its board of directors and created a co-chairmanship – occupied for now by Velazquez and Mike Smith – with an eye toward spreading the power at the board level to more corners of the membership.

“It was easier in the past for the Guild to work with just one group – the NTRA,” Velazquez said. “Now you have to make separate deals with the large racetrack companies. But if you go in acting like you are a partner, I think you’ll have more success.”

And if ever there was a need for partnership on an issue, the concussion protocols, along with diagnosis and treatment, deserves top billing.

“It’s been very slow to implement, to get the right people in place,” Velazquez said. “I just hope it comes around sooner than later. But like everything at the racetrack, it moves slow.” Except the riders and the horses. Velazquez was honored during the assembly for winning his 6,000th race, which happened on Nov. 30 at Aqueduct. He won No. 6,001 on Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

“I really don’t concentrate on the numbers,” Velazquez said. “I just concentrate on doing the work, and doing the best I can.”

Velazquez is the 18th jockey to reach the 6,000 mark. Among those ahead of him are Russell Baze (12,842), Laffit Pincay (9,530), and the active riders Edgar Prado, T.D. Houghton, and Mario Pino.

In addition to two wins in the Kentucky Derby and nearly $400 million in purses earned by his mounts, Velazquez won his 16th Breeders’ Cup event last month at Churchill Downs with Sistercharlie in the Filly and Mare Turf. He credits a huge share of his success to fellow Puerto Rican, mentor, and unofficial big brother Angel Cordero Jr., who took Velazquez under his wing when he hit the U.S. in 1990.

Cordero retired with 7,057 wins, seventh on the all-time list, and after a brief training career was hired by Velazquez to be his agent in March of 1998. About 4,800 of those 6,001 wins have come since Cordero took his book.

“There was no goal I was shooting for,” Velazquez said. “I just hope to stay healthy and have a few more good years. Anyway, I know I’ll never catch Pincay. And probably not even Cordero!”

JAY HOVDEY