Jockeys Win Ad Ruling

A federal judge, ruling Thursday on a lawsuit filed by the five jockeys against the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, issued a temporary injunction that will allow the riders to wear advertising on their pants in the Derby. Later Thursday, the authority, which is the state agency that supervises racing, said that "in fairness" to other jockeys, it would allow all jockeys in Kentucky to wear advertising.

The ruling, by Judge John G. Heyburn III in U.S. District Court, means that Bailey, Alex Solis, Jose Santos, John Velazquez and Shane Sellers will be able to wear advertising in the Derby and other races. The five riders, who had lined up advertisers willing to pay them $30,000 apiece for the Derby, said that their 1st Amendment rights were being violated. Churchill Downs, reacting to directives from the authority, had told the riders last week that they would be ejected from the track if they wore advertising.

After the judge's ruling, Churchill released a list of house rules that would govern the advertising. The rules stipulate that jockeys cannot wear advertising that conflicts with existing track sponsorships.

Heyburn's decision, which came after two days of hearings earlier this week, also applied to jockeys Robby Albarado and Brian Peck, who had sued, along with Sellers, in a separate action. The second group of jockeys appealed to the court to wear the Jockeys' Guild patch on Derby day. Last year, apparently in violation of state regulations, 14 jockeys wore the union logos in the Derby and were fined $500 apiece by the authority. The jockeys have appealed the fines.

Ron Sheffer, an attorney for the Bailey group, said that Heyburn would hold another hearing within 30 days.

"What happened Thursday was just what it said, a temporary injunction," Sheffer said. "At the next hearing, both sides can introduce new testimony and arguments, and we'll go from there."

The sponsors for the five jockeys have not been announced, but Bailey has been closely connected with Wrangler jeans. Bailey advertised Wrangler on his pants and Santos displayed Budweiser on his at last year's Belmont Stakes in New York, where jockey advertising is permitted. California and Florida are other states that allow jockeys to advertise. Depending on what their horses do the remainder of the Triple Crown, and in major races later in the year, the five Derby jockeys' earnings from advertising could escalate into the six-figure range, perhaps as much as $250,000.