The Jockeys’ Guild fired president Wayne Gertmenian during an emergency
meeting on Tuesday and named former jockey Darrell Haire as temporary national
manager. The Guild also severed all ties to Gertmenian’s Matrix Capital
Associates, which supposedly provided consulting services to the organization.
The Guild Senate removed the existing board of directors on Tuesday and
elected temporary replacements. John Velazquez will serve as chairman, and the
other new board members are Tomey Jean Swan (vice chairwoman), Alex Solis
(secretary), Jeff Johnston (treasurer), Mike Luzzi, G.R. Carter, Jerry LaSala,
Larry Reynolds and Jon Court.
Under Gertmenian’s lead, the Jockeys’ Guild failed to inform its members that
a $1 million catastrophic insurance policy for riders had lapsed, and the
embattled president was harshly criticized by Congress during a October 18
hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations. Jockeys nationwide had called for his ouster in recent months.