Page 58 - Speedhorse, December 2018

“He could do anything on horseback. That’s why he’s so good at his job; he knows what these riders go through.” – Darrell Haire, Jockeys’ Guild Regional Manager.
“I rode off and on because I was also a racing official,” John says, adding that he served as clerk of scales, which also involved being the patrol judge at the finish line; assistant clerk of scales; entry clerk; and also an accredited racing steward.
“I’d ride so long and then I’d be a
racing official. I did that at Keeneland
and Churchill Downs in Kentucky,
and Hawthorne and Sportsman’s Park in Illinois,” he explains. Along with Kentucky, Louisiana and Illinois, John rode in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
and Nebraska.
“I was riding at Churchill Downs and got a call asking if I’d be interested in working for the Jockeys’ Guild,” he says. John Giovanni, who was the national manager at that time, offered him the job and he started in October 1987. He is now the Jockeys’ Guild’s longest tenured employee.
THE BRIDGE FOR RELATIONSHIPS
Perhaps the reason John is so good at what he does is that he’s a keen observer. “I like to hang out in the background, so to speak,” he says. “Everybody kids me about it. They say, ‘Half the time, we don’t even know you’re there.’”
But they do know he’s there when it counts. For whatever reason, John has a unique ability to relate to the myriad personalities that exist among the jockeys, stewards and management with whom he works.
“He’s the bridge for relationships with all those he deals with in his region,” says all-time leading Quarter Horse jockey G.R. Carter Jr., who also serves as vice chairman of the Jockeys’ Guild Board of Directors and a member of the Jockeys’ Guild Senate from the western region. “Anytime we need something brought up, it seems like if we let him bring it up, we get a better response. He knows all the issues inside and out.”
Due to John’s dedication and unique rapport with his colleagues, he also serves on the AQHA
Racing Committee and on the New Mexico Rules and Medications committees. The scope of the work he’s involved in requires that he travels frequently. “It’s not a five-day-a-week job; it’s not 9 to 5,” says Terry Meyocks, national manager of the Jockeys’ Guild, who got to know John close to 50 years ago when Terry’s dad was a jocks’ agent in the Chicago area and John was riding there.
“When you’re dealing with racetracks,
it’s basically 24/7,” he continues. “You have racetracks that race on Mondays and Tuesdays, and you have some that race on the weekends. You have daytime racing and nighttime racing. It’s a demanding, year-round job. There are always opening days or stewards’ or medications committee or commission meetings that he needs to attend and he’s at the beck and call of riders and stewards calling and asking for his opinion. It’s never-ending. But they all respect him and he’s got an excellent rapport with everyone involved.”
56 SPEEDHORSE, December 2018
John Beech (center) with fellow retired jockeys Jerry Nicodemus (left) and Jerry Burgess (right).