Parx, jockeys discuss insurance waiver solution

Attorneys representing Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia and jockeys who ride at the track remain in discussions over a resolution to a dispute involving a waiver distributed by the track two weeks ago that many riders refused to sign, according to the attorney representing the track’s jockey colony.

The attorneys have now reached three separate one-week extension to the negotiations, with Parx declining to enforce a policy banning any rider who does not sign the waiver. The current extension runs through Nov. 27, according to Alan Pincus, an attorney representing the riders.

The waiver caused an uproar among representatives of jockeys after it was distributed to Parx riders on Nov. 4. Although jockeys are covered under a $1 million insurance policy at the track, the waiver would have indemnified the track from any liability arising from an accident, even in cases of gross negligence.

The waiver was negotiated by the track’s horsemen group, and it was distributed to all workers on the backstretch. The waiver states that no workers will be allowed on track grounds without a signed waiver on file.

Parx distributed the waiver several months after an appeals court upheld a $7.8 million judgment against the track related to the death of an exercise rider in 2010.