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Letter of the Week

Think of the jockeys

Michael Lynch’s excellent piece in The Age (“Anniversary shines light on Moonee Valley night riders”, 25/1) should be required reading for racing administrators.
Lynch’s piece focuses on the strain that additional night fixtures are having on participants, especially jockeys.
“Jockeys, who need to be up early to ride trackwork and fulfil stable obligations at an afternoon meeting, may then be required to double up at twilight or night meetings — meaning their working day can stretch to 20 hours,” he writes.
He points out that jockeys with school-age children might not see their kids for days at a time.
I really have to wonder whether those in charge have thoroughly thought about this “new adventure”, as one official has described this season’s model, with double-header day and twilight/night fixtures on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of most weeks in summer. 
Hong Kong has two meetings a week. Nationally, we have many, many more on a daily basis. 
It’s already wall-to-wall racing. Even with 10 race-free Mondays, Victoria races on 353 days of the year, with multiple meetings on many of those days.
Administrators will continue to argue that sport worldwide is moving into night timeslots and that jockeys are self-employed individuals who are free to manage their workload as they see fit.
This latter point is quite frankly wrong. Jockeys receive their riding fees and other disbursements through state racing authorities, and the pressure on them to accept the rides they are offered (or risk losing others) is immense.
There are major occupational health and safety issues here which need to be addressed.

 

Peter McNamara
Canterbury (Vic)
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