Funds held by the Turf Club for the benefit of licensed jockeys are to be divided between a charitable trust for impoverished riders and a fund providing jockeys who have a certain number of rides and years of experience with a flat pension payment. The settlement was approved by the High Court yesterday.
Under the settlement terms, a charitable trust for impecunious jockeys will benefit by some €1.1 million. It will also get €275,000 every year in the future, with a provision for that figure to be adjusted if more funds are needed. A balance of the €3.4 million, minus legal costs, will go into a pension fund.
The monies are the result of a 1973 Turf Club rule which provided that 2 per cent of the amount gained by the winning and placed horses in every race (in which the riders of such horses were licensed jockeys) should be paid into a fund to benefit licensed jockeys and apprentices.