John Velazquez and Mike Smith were elected co-chairmen of The Jockeys' Guild when the organization hosted its annual assembly virtually Jan. 14. Javier Castellano, Julien Leparoux and James Flores were elected co-vice chairmen, Tyler Gaffalione as secretary and Julien Leparoux as treasurer. In addition, Joe Bravo, Drayden Van Dyke, James Graham and Rodney Prescott will serve on the Board of Directors.
Senate members for the guild in 2025-2026 are:
Eastern region: Joe Bravo, Kendrick Carmouche, Javier Castellano, Frankie Dettori, Reylu Gutierrez, Flavien Prat, Sheldon Russell, Drayden Van Dyke and John Velazquez
Central region: Keith Asmussen, Alex Birzer, Stuart Elliott, Julio Felix, Tyler Gaffalione, James Graham, Julien Leparoux, Jareth Loveberry and Rodney Prescott.
Western region: William Antongeorgi, Jesus Ayala (QH), Jose Figueroa, James Flores (QH) Antonio Fresu, Kyle Frey, Juan J. Hernandez, Ricky Ramirez (QH) and Mike Smith.
Also during the virtual meeting, Onrise CEO Kim Quigley discussed the joint effort between the Jockeys' Guild and HISA, in conjunction with the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, to offer jockeys access to free mental health services with the on-line platform Onrise. The program is available to riders who are either covered persons with HISA or Guild members riding in non-HISA states, qualified retired jockeys and the permanently disabled.
Dan Waits, Executive Director of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, gave an update on the programs offered by the Chaplaincy at racetracks around the country. Legislative updates were presented by the Guild's lobbyists in California, New York and Kentucky and Gerald Hall, founder and chairman of SportsMEDIA Technology, and Kyle McDoniel of Equibase led a discussion about SMT and how it could be used in horseracing.
Also during the meeting, a review of the jockey's retirement plan was presented and legal updates were discussed by Mindy Coleman, Jockeys' Guild in-house legal counsel.
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