Jockeying for a Safer Workplace
You may think your job has some hazards, but I would guess these risks pale beside the dangers of riding a thoroughbred horse. We all think of jockeys as the vertically challenged masters of very impressive creatures, which indeed they are. An average thoroughbred weighs about 1,100 pounds. The jockey trying to control him is not allowed to tip the scales in the buff above 111 pounds.
Jockeys have been trying to improve their working conditions since the 1940s, when a few riders led by the legendary Eddie Arcaro and Jonny Longden met in secret to develop a strategy. Their clandestine efforts led to the formation of the Jockey's Guild -- for an extensive and fascinating history, check out their website. You will learn that the legendary Bill Shoemaker retired in 1990, only to suffer a terrible auto accident in 1991, which left him paralyzed. The cause of the accident? Reaching for his cell phone!
The fate of jockeys is a state by state issue. New York seems to have led the way, creating a special fund to cover work-related injuries for jockeys racing at New York tracks. It's funded by a small flat fee ($420 a year paid by owners and trainers), a stall fee, and a percentage of winner's purses capped at $2,000. New Jersey, Maryland and California have followed suit, addressing not only workers comp coverage, but safety related issues as well. The Guild fought for and achieved a universal safety standard that requires helmets and padded vests for jockeys.
If you think that the legendary horse racing state of Kentucky is in the vanguard of protecting jockeys, think again. The Blue Grass state has yet to solve the problem of comp coverage for jockeys. The Jockeys want owners and racetracks to foot the bill for expanded workers’ compensation coverage (as is the case in New York), while others in the industry favor jockeys contributing a portion of the cost (yet another incarnation of "employees" versus "independent contractors"!). When in doubt, set up a blue ribbon panel, which is just what Governor Earnie Fletcher has done. He's supposed to hear back from them by September 1.
Health and Safety Concerns
Why is the Jockey Guild so focused on the minimum weight? They note that the saddle, boots, silks, and pants weigh five pounds. In order to reach a total weight of 116 pounds, you have to weigh a waiflike total of 111 pounds, stripped. It's not easy for adults to do this. As a result, jockeys are engaging in unhealthy practices such as purging, using diuretics and sitting in sweatboxes to meet designated race weights. These unhealthy practices can lead to immediate problems with concentration and endurance during a race and long-term catastrophic health conditions such as kidney and liver failure. A jockey recently collapsed and died after a race, with his pre-race weight loss a possible factor.
The Guild is also trying to implement a wide ranging agenda of benefits to improve conditions for jockeys, including health and medical plans, universal workers' compensation coverage, a uniform mount fee scale, on-track ambulances, safer starting gates, safety rails, and other important issues. So the next time the trumpets blare and you hear the sentimental notes of "My Old Kentucky Home," think of the men and women in colorful silks perched on the backs of the magnificent beasts. Theirs is a fast-paced and hazardous profession, indeed.
