Invitation to the 11%
August 29th 2008 07:13
The Australian Jockeys’ Association is launching a campaign ‘Racing For our Lives’ to call on the racing industry to provide greater protection for Australia’s (current) 860 jockeys.
A one per cent increase in the prizemoney pool (from 5% to 6% as a jockey percentage) to be allocated to jockey welfare. The AJA would use the funds to:
cover jockeys' compulsory Public Liability premiums
fund a national Personal Accident Scheme for jockeys
support jockeys and their families in financial hardship due to death, illness and injury through the National Jockeys' Trust
fund other welfare programs.
What I found most interesting when reading the report was this quote:
“Horse racing is a dangerous industry - 89 per cent of jockeys have suffered at least one fall during their career that requires medical attention – however most jockeys are not highly paid. In fact more than 50 per cent of jockeys earn less than $50,000 per year. “
The wages situation is not the surprise. Everyone knows that the top jockeys reap great financial rewards - but like most things in life it does not ‘trickle down’ to the base of the pyramid. And $50,000 is not much with the overheads and costs involved in race riding. Petrol costs alone are astronomical - and insurance premiums (if they can get any insurance at all) would be impossible.
And that point links me to the point of interest: “89% of jockeys have suffered at least one fall DURING THEIR CAREER that requires medical attention.”
Okay - 11% of jockeys must be lying (or concussed and unable to remember). There is no way that more than 10% of jockeys get through a CAREER (how about even 12 months) without having a fall that needs some medical attention. Or physiotherapy. Or don’t we include stitches, concussion, black and blue bruising and fractures? Is it only the paraplegics, those in comas, or those with multiple shattered bones that are deemed to have 'medical attention'? Name the jockey and name the serious injury: Darren Gauci; Glenn Boss; Damien Oliver; Luke Nolen...as far as I know 100% of jockeys have suffered at least one fall during their career that requires medical attention.
I have posted a few articles on jockey injuries and welfare previously. Providing lists of injuries of skilled and talented jockeys. Let’s not talk about the apprentice learning their trade.
If you (reading) are one of the 11% of jockeys that has never had a fall that required some form of medical treatment I would like to hear from you. I don't believe that you exist (and if you do I want to know where to purchase your lucky charm). I was a wannabe jockey at one time and had falls weekly (although I must admit that my worst injury was the gigantic splinter that embedded in my fingernail that I acquired mucking out a stable...hurt like hell getting it removed and the tetanus shot was a killer...and I did manage to walk away after having a horse fall on top of me...but you can only get lucky so many times and my luck would have quickly run out).
Even the very best suffer.
Shane Dye responds to the question of falls and insurance on the ABC:
“Insurance for jockeys was almost unobtainable...Insurance is hard to get because there's a lot of falls and there's not enough jockeys to insure...
It's a small array of jockeys around Australia and that's all they can get.
...It's not a big working force where you can go insure 50,000 people or something like that." - Shane Dye.
Few things in life are as dangerous as riding a thoroughbred in a race.
another day at the office
A one per cent increase in the prizemoney pool (from 5% to 6% as a jockey percentage) to be allocated to jockey welfare. The AJA would use the funds to:
cover jockeys' compulsory Public Liability premiums
fund a national Personal Accident Scheme for jockeys
support jockeys and their families in financial hardship due to death, illness and injury through the National Jockeys' Trust
fund other welfare programs.
What I found most interesting when reading the report was this quote:
“Horse racing is a dangerous industry - 89 per cent of jockeys have suffered at least one fall during their career that requires medical attention – however most jockeys are not highly paid. In fact more than 50 per cent of jockeys earn less than $50,000 per year. “
The wages situation is not the surprise. Everyone knows that the top jockeys reap great financial rewards - but like most things in life it does not ‘trickle down’ to the base of the pyramid. And $50,000 is not much with the overheads and costs involved in race riding. Petrol costs alone are astronomical - and insurance premiums (if they can get any insurance at all) would be impossible.
And that point links me to the point of interest: “89% of jockeys have suffered at least one fall DURING THEIR CAREER that requires medical attention.”
Okay - 11% of jockeys must be lying (or concussed and unable to remember). There is no way that more than 10% of jockeys get through a CAREER (how about even 12 months) without having a fall that needs some medical attention. Or physiotherapy. Or don’t we include stitches, concussion, black and blue bruising and fractures? Is it only the paraplegics, those in comas, or those with multiple shattered bones that are deemed to have 'medical attention'? Name the jockey and name the serious injury: Darren Gauci; Glenn Boss; Damien Oliver; Luke Nolen...as far as I know 100% of jockeys have suffered at least one fall during their career that requires medical attention.
I have posted a few articles on jockey injuries and welfare previously. Providing lists of injuries of skilled and talented jockeys. Let’s not talk about the apprentice learning their trade.
If you (reading) are one of the 11% of jockeys that has never had a fall that required some form of medical treatment I would like to hear from you. I don't believe that you exist (and if you do I want to know where to purchase your lucky charm). I was a wannabe jockey at one time and had falls weekly (although I must admit that my worst injury was the gigantic splinter that embedded in my fingernail that I acquired mucking out a stable...hurt like hell getting it removed and the tetanus shot was a killer...and I did manage to walk away after having a horse fall on top of me...but you can only get lucky so many times and my luck would have quickly run out).
Even the very best suffer.
Shane Dye responds to the question of falls and insurance on the ABC:
“Insurance for jockeys was almost unobtainable...Insurance is hard to get because there's a lot of falls and there's not enough jockeys to insure...
It's a small array of jockeys around Australia and that's all they can get.
...It's not a big working force where you can go insure 50,000 people or something like that." - Shane Dye.
Few things in life are as dangerous as riding a thoroughbred in a race.
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