Tensions are escalating between the Jockeys’ Guild and the New York Racing Association over a number of health and safety issues and the fact the two parties have been operating without a contract since the beginning of the year. On Saturday, about an hour before first post of Belmont’s 11-race card, the jockeys requested a meeting with NYRA management that resulted in a 37-minute delay to the start of the card. NYRA, in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, said the jockeys wanted to discuss things that weren’t part of the contract negotiations. “To raise these issues outside the agreed-upon terms of negotiation, with no notice provided and mere minutes before the start of a Saturday race card, was unreasonable and caused a lengthy delay leading to confusion among fans, horseplayers, trainers and owners,” according to a release issued Tuesday afternoon by NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna. NYRA’s release was in response to a lengthy statement the guild posted on its website Monday outlining some of the issues it has with NYRA. The guild has expressed a number of concerns regarding certain health and safety issues it feels NYRA has failed to adequately address including medical staffing during training and racing hours, an increase in the scale of weights, and proper concussion protocols among other things. The guild wants the minimum weight a rider must carry raised from 116 pounds to 118 pounds, even though that “is much lower than any other major racing countries,” according to a Guild release. NYRA maintains that this is an issue that should be discussed nationally. The guild has sought the support of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association on adjusting the scale of weights. “We continue to speak with NYRA and the jocks about this and hope to find a solution that balances the jockeys’ health concerns as well as NYRA’s and horsemen’s concerns over what’s fair and proper for the horses,” Joe Appelbaum, president of NYTHA said Tuesday. Appelbaum disputed a guild assertion that the NYTHA was drafting a letter of support for the raising of weights. The guild and NYRA also disagree over medical staffing, especially during training hours. It was only in the last six months that NYRA has gone from emergency medical technicians [EMTs] to paramedics in the morning. Still, the jockeys have concerns of whether there are enough properly qualified personnel in place to handle multiple situations. “NYRA has spent considerable sums to make our racetracks and training facilities safer, and we have new protocols in place for safer training,” McKenna said. Appelbaum said NYTHA has worked with NYRA over the last two years, saying “the response the last two years towards safety in the morning has been a strong one.” On Monday, the Jockeys' Guild announced it had withdrawn its support for an accreditation program for racetracks run by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. “The Guild has lost all confidence in the accreditation process,” Terry Meyocks, the guild’s national manager, wrote in a Feb. 6 letter to the NTRA that was made public Monday. “It has become quite evident that the NTRA has not been [an] advocate for the jockeys’ well-being for the past several years.” Another issue that the guild and NYRA are odds over is concussion protocols. The guild maintains that NYRA refuses to adopt model guidelines adopted by the American Racing Commissioners International regarding concussion protocols. “NYRA management has stated it is not willing to pay to implement such protocols and is not willing to assume the liability of making a determination if a jockey is fit to ride after experiencing a fall that could potentially have caused the jockey to suffer a concussion or head injury,” the guild wrote on its website Monday night. “They have stated that it is up to the individual jockey to make that decision.  However, many times, jockeys who have sustained a concussion are unaware of the severity of their injuries.  This is a major area of concern as a jockey who is potentially unfit to ride, but is allowed to do so, is not only a danger to him or herself, but also the other jockeys and horses in the race. “The issue of concussion protocols should be addressed in the context of a national conversation that should be held with stakeholders and regulators from across the industry to properly assess how best to move forward,” McKenna said. Last Saturday, jockey Jose Lezcano was thrown from a horse during training hours and suffered a concussion. On Sunday, an exercise rider also got kicked in the head during training hours and is hospitalized with a more serious issue, according to a source. Another issue the jockeys have is adjusting field size in turf races when the rail is placed far out from the hedge. “Riders are concerned for their safety and their horse’s safety because of the configuration of the turf course in races of certain distances,” the guild wrote. “In addition to the dangers, due to the field size, it potentially impacts the outcome of the races, which is not fair to owners, trainers, and the betting public.  However, management has continued to write races with these field sizes.” The New York jockeys also expressed anger over a text message sent by the racing office to horsemen alerting them to the fact that out-of-town jockeys Tyler Baze and Florent Geroux would be at Belmont last Saturday to ride. “NYRA management has continued to show a total disrespect for the members of the colony who regularly ride in New York,” the guild wrote. In its statement Tuesday, NYRA “...will continue to act in a professional manner with all stakeholders, including owners, trainers, horseplayers, fans, jockeys, exercise riders, hot walkers, and grooms. NYRA will continue to negotiate in good faith with the Guild in a responsible way that does not negatively affect fans, horsemen and owners.” According to a source, the jockeys, NYTHA and NYRA plan to meet sometime after the Preakness and before the Belmont Stakes “to try and work out as many issues as possible,” the source said.