Thoroughbred Racing Experts Caution about Overworked Humans
Recent reports suggest that the only ones getting adequate rest in the Thoroughbred horseracing business are the horses.
At the higher levels at least, it is rare for a galloper to run with less than two weeks between races. Three weeks is common, so depending on the schedule, a top horse might compete just one time in a month.
The trainers and jockeys, on the other hand, show up every day, which leads some to the conclusion that some people employed in racing will turn to stimulants in order to keep up.
The term “workload management” is in vogue these days, having crept out of rugby and extended to racing and other codes.
According to top jockey Craig Williams, the demands of the job affect all the humans.
Group 1 winning trainer Pat Webster (Happy Clapper) has voiced concerns, with his concern mainly directed at jockeys.
Pat Webster, who also supplies drug and alcohol counseling, told reporters, “People think there is a pill for everything, there is a pill to get sleep and there is a pill to wake up and I’m sure at the end of the day some jockeys will say there is a pill to keep me awake and they might not test me,” Pat Webster said.
The advent of twilight-night racing is a primary culprit, according to Pat Webster.
“I don’t know how some of these jockeys do it – they ride late on Friday night and then turn up the next day and that’s after all the other things they do in their life as a jockey,” said Pat Webster.
In the view of VJA boss Matt Hyland, a rule stating that jockeys must have 10 hours between the completion of one meeting and the start of the next is loosely enforced, if at all.
“It’s difficult to enforce that rule – who actually polices it?” Matt Hyland said.