mutuel coupling

Without any public discussion among commissioners and in quick succession by unanimous voice vote, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday enacted a new rule designed to keep jockeys from stalling via filing appeals to get out of serving riding suspensions during the lucrative Saratoga Race Course meet. In similarly brisk fashion, the NYSGC also set into motion Feb. 28 the advancement of a proposed regulation to lift controversial pari-mutuel restrictions related to married jockeys competing in the same race. This measure must come back for a final vote...

One year ago, a decades-old state requirement in New York that mandates that same-race mounts of married jockeys be coupled in pari-mutuel wagering cost the state an estimated $4.2 million in lost betting handle. That same rule also caused two well-respected, just-married riders--Katie Davis and Trevor McCarthy--to uproot their lives during the middle of a pandemic, necessitating them to move from New York to California to try and earn livings by riding where no such restrictions exist. In the midst of that upheaval, a New York lawmaker whose district includes...