Any jockey that does come in as more than four pounds over the expected weight will not be allowed to take part in the race, meaning that their trainers will be forced to replace them. There have been some jockeys over the years that have bucked the trend of being a certain height or coming in at a given weight.
Instead, Patrick Sankey is a good example of a jockey that made headlines when he won a point-to-point race as an amateur jockey in May for , coming in at six foot and seven inches in height. Sankey does sort of prove the point about tall jockeys, however.
He was ten pounds overweight for the race at Bredwardine, being lucky that his horse, Galbally King, could handle the extra burden. Even professional jockeys can be taller than the average, though. Stuart Brown was an Australian jockey who was six foot and two inches tall. The biggest issue that he had was maintaining his weight, with the abuse that he put his body through believed to be part of the cause of his death , aged Perhaps the most famous example of a tall jockey is that of Bruce Hobbs.
That is not all that exceptional in and of itself, but when you consider that he was six foot and one and a half inches tall, it suddenly becomes a more impressive feat. Getting the Diet Right A big part of being a jockey is understanding nutrition. Why It Matters Horses weigh between and 1, pounds. What Happens If Jockeys Are Overweight The British Horseracing Authority has rules about what happens if a jockey is over their weight when it comes time to take part in a race.
Many are kind enough to give the handlers, jockeys and grooms a bonus though. On the Flat, the percentage is even lower for horse jockeys with less than 7 percent on average going to the winning rider. With placed prize money, regardless of the code, the rider gets a measly 3. No wonder they try so hard to get the horses to win!
This is a controversial topic, but horse racing authorities have always taken on board concerns from equine welfare charities with regards to a horse jockey using the whip. There are clear rules to follow and severe punishments for any rider who is found to have broken them.
In a Flat race, a jockey may not use the foam padded, air cushioned whip made of synthetic material more than seven times. Stewards also look at the force a jockey punts into their use of the whip. If a horse does not respond to the whip, one of the expressed purposes for using it, then a jockey must consider the wellbeing of their mount. Racing authorities take a very dim view of horse jockeys placing bets and it is seen as major breach of the rules.
Lengthy bans can be handed out, with Hayley Turner suspended for three months after she was found betting while still holding a licence to ride. That is a mild punishment by comparison. In Australia, there is a mandatory two-year ban for any horse jockey found to breach betting rules.
This acts as a major deterrent and the authorities Down Under are not afraid to be even more severe than that with punishments. Racing NSW stewards banned Adam Hyeronimus for three years when they found him guilty of breaking the rules. Horse racing is a dangerous sport and, while fatalities are thankfully few and far between, life-changing injuries and deaths do happen. All horse jockeys are required to wear protective headgear, but more than riders in North America have died as a result of injuries in races since Studies do show that the death rates of jockeys in California have decreased significantly after While much has been done in countries where horse racing is popular, the risk to both equine and human athletes cannot be reduced entirely.
Thin body protectors, which horse jockeys can claim as part of their equipment, have become more common in race riding in recent years to protect the spine. As it becomes more difficult to control their weight as they get older, many horse jockeys call time on their careers in the saddle after the age of Not only must they lose vast amounts of weight, but they must also stay healthy enough to ride and direct their horse.
The lighter a rider is, the more horses he can ride. Some adverse effects of their strive to lose weight are dental erosion, nutritional deficiencies, menstrual irregularity, low bone density, dehydration, and heat stress. Any of which can harm the rider on race day. Jockeys having to cut weight to lbs is dangerously unhealthy. Besides increasing the burden horses carry in a race, it makes sense to include more female jockeys because fit females naturally have less weight to lose in order to ride in a race.
Recently doctors developed a special diet and fitness regimens geared to help jockeys maintain a healthy weight. Although diet modifications provide benefits, the most effective adjustment is to increase the weight horses carry. Long-term dietary abuse creates a lower bone density, which in turn makes the likelihood of breaking a bone more probable when compared to an average person of their size. Falling from a horse, six-foot-tall, running 45 miles per hour is detrimental for an average person.
Now, add to the equation that the rider is frail boned and suffering from malnutrition and you have a recipe for disaster. Forced vomiting alone leads to tooth erosion, cavities, gum problems, water retention, abdominal bloating, stomach distress, fluid loss with low potassium levels, irregular or lack of menstrual periods, swallowing difficulties, esophagus damage, and in some severe cases; rupture of the esophagus, and weakened rectal walls.
Lasix is a drug commonly used in racehorses to reduce fluids and control the amount of bleeding that occurs in the lungs. Using laxatives can cause the kidneys to overwork, which leads to permanent kidney malfunctions. All of these health issues occur so that these athletes can lose a few extra pounds before their races. Not only is the weight being lost but their strength and protection weaken as well. Weight limits should be adjusted higher.
A rider at a natural weight, will retain more muscle and have denser bones. Allowing higher weight limits, will prevent many injuries, and reduce the adverse long-term health effects caused by the extreme diet. During the s and s, the jockeys were pushing their bodies beyond belief to make weight. To take off enough weight to ride a horse in Windsor, Canada, Sunny Greenberg steamed in a Turkish bath, guzzled Epsom salts mixed with jalap, took a boat from Detroit to Windsor vomiting all the way- donned a rubber suit over several layers of heavy clothing, and ran around and around the track.
He staggered into the woods, collapsed, and either fell asleep or fainted. He awoke in a pool of sweat and tried to clear his disorientation by downing a half-ounce of whiskey.
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