We discussed a few weeks ago, on another thread, about the earnings of an average jockey. In todayâs Racing Post a special article has been published on just that subject: A host of senior jump jockeys are facing a bleak future if a startling trend of only having one ride at a meeting continues. Rising fuel costs, which have gone up more than 50% in the past five years, other expenses and the low levels of prize money are preventing some riders from breaking even. Research from the PJA reveals 43% of jump jockeys are attending meetings for only one mount, while similar research by the Racing Post between mid-September and mid-October showed 51% of jump riders were having just one mount per meeting, up from 44% in 2010, a worrying statistic considering the long distances involved in travelling to racecourses. Each jockey receives a riding fee of £148.95 - £39.85 more than a Flat jockey â but many are struggling to make it pay after costs for agents, valets, physios, insurance and travel are taken into consideration. Liam Treadwell, who won the Grand National on Mon Mome in 2009, says deductions leave riders with 73% (£108.73) of the fee and Dougie Costello revealed he is often left with as little as £15 to £20 on some days. Costello said âMy fuel bill for a month would be £1200-£1500 and during September I earned £900 but my outgoings were £2,500. Iâve found you have to save when the sun is shining. I had a very good start to the season and was able to put some away. When youâre driving around so much you also donât have much of a social life to spend much on other things. âItâs hard to get rides if you are not in the top five or ten in the jockeyâs championship and some lads go to Flat yards to get paid per lot. When the season resumes you pray to god that the contacts are still there and owners want you. âAgents take 10%, the valet gets the same for the first ride and then £5-£6 for every ride after that. The tax is 20% so when I go racing for one ride, which Iâve done a bit, I end up with £15-£20 if I donât spend anything on food or a coffee on the way home. â[My agent] Mr Roberts works so hard I donât mind giving him 10%. My accountant will often say that I should set myself up as a limited company to claim back 20-40% of your VAT expenses. That also lets you claim back on things such as the Racing Post and fuel, which helps. âI have to scrimp and save and work as hard as I possibly can when I can. I just hope to get a good month. Last winter when the snow really hit I know some of the lads went labouring, worked as electricians and carpenters or tried to find work in yards sweeping up and helping out.â Vince Slattery, who retired from riding in April to concentrate on his other business interests, confirmed he would regularly turn up to the races with paint on his hands from outside work done to supplement his income. He said âIâve always done stuff â itâs extra income. Iâd go racing at Kempton for one ride, finished tailed off and be thinking I could have earned a couple of hundred quid down the road for tiling someoneâs bathroom. âI was never worried about not getting rides because I did lots of other stuff, but for some lads itâs all they know.â Slattery added âI do work at some of the ladsâ houses and get them doing stuff with me â they think they canât do anything else. The JETS (Jockeys Employment and Training Scheme) is very good and some of them donât use it enough. They should be educated in things other than racing.â The number of professional jump jockeys fell for a third successive year in 2010, with 93 registered, and PJA chief executive Kevin Darley has called the growing number of jockeys taking one ride per meeting a worrying trend. âA lot of people take the wrong view about jockeys when they see the famous ones flying around in helicopters and aeroplanes. That happens to very few and many more are living hand to mouth. âYou find a lot of jockeys are getting to their mid-20s, early 30a, settle down with a family and just canât afford to be a jockey any more. We have had one or two jockeys, who I donât want to name, who rode 50 winners a year and were getting 500 rides but were forced to call it a day when they settled down as they couldnât afford to ride with a young family.â Darley added that an increased riding fee is something under constant review but is difficult to achieve with jockeys wanting to serve owners as best they can. He continued âWe have negotiations with the Racehorse Owners Association every year and we review the riding fee, but itâs always tough when you get to a point like that as on one hand youâre trying to support the owners but on the other weâve got a living to earn.â Former leading rider Mick Fitzgerald said the love of the sport is what keeps many of the riders going and their perilous existence works to heightened camaraderie and togetherness in the weighing room. âAs a jockey youâre a born optimist and youâre always looking for the next good horse to get you to the top and thatâs why a lot keep going. âThatâs one of the good things about the job and they wouldnât do anything else â they love it. Itâs a tough life and a tough way for anyone to make a living. The fuel bills are huge, especially when youâre doing upwards of 40,000 miles a year. Thereâs such camaraderie in this sport that jockeys will live on a shoestring to compete.â Jump Jockey Expenses Based on 230 rides a year Licenses £202 Insurance £1,374 Subscriptions £1,066 Fuel £4,333 Agent Fees £5,318 Valet Fees £3,984 Equipment £555 Account Charges £161 Physio £224 TOTAL £17,220
Also taken from the same article: A Day in the Life of Liam Treadwell 18 October 2011 I filled up my car from nearly empty the night before as I was going to Nick Gifford’s. I put in 46 litres and it cost me £65.05 which put just over 500 miles on the clock. I left my home in Gloucestershire at 4am for Nick’s in Sussex as I have to be there at 6.30am and it’s a trip of 157 miles from door to door. I stopped on the way for a Racing Post, two bottles of Lucozade and a packet of sweets which came to £5.20. I needed the Post because I am riding, the Lucozade to keep me awake and the sweets to give me a bit of sugar. We pulled out at Nick’s at 7am and I rode two lots and did some schooling. Left at 10.30/10.45am and went straight to Fontwell, which is on the way home for me. It’s 14 miles from Nick’s to Fontwell and I got there in plenty of time and had a sleep in the car at the races and went to see the physio. The physio comes out of our riding fee so I like to use them as much as possible. I had one ride in the 4.30pm which ran disappointingly and was pulled up. I left the races around 5pm and was home for 7.30pm and cooked a bit of dinner for my girlfriend and I. It was a 314 mile round trip. Fontwell is one of the good tracks and provides you with food, otherwise I would have stopped on the way home to get a sandwich or something. This is the first time I’ve gone through all my expenses like this and it’s scary.” Valet £11 Agent £11 Fuel £40 Physio 90p Sundries £5.20 Tax £22 Riding Fee £148.50 Left in Pocket £58.85
A very sobering article which highlights the totally inadequate financial structures in the sport. Surely action must be taken to rectify the situation, you can't expect people to live like that. I would introduce a tote monopoly around the successful models in other countries, its the only way to get real money back into the game.
It would be interesting to know how the likes of Ruby and AP manage, I assume they do very well and that's what all the others aspire to. But until then, it is a very tough life by the sounds of it.
I said as much on 606 Oddy and also put it strongly to RFC. I said, if your house has become structurally unsound and the roof's about to cave in, you don't go and hire decorators to paint the window frames. Either the bookies pay up or nationalise it all, as in the successful countries.
Liam Tredwell pocketed 50k for his Grand National win, which is about 5 years wages for a barman, and were expected to feel sorry for him, do me a favour. Jump Jockeys may not be living a life of luxury, but they can do something about It, either work hard and improve there performance as a rider, and get into the top 10, or go back to college and get an education to get a well paid job. I won't be getting the violins out, for a few jockeys doing there money on desiel, when there are people who are in far worse financial positions
Well that is another way of looking at it. Can't argue with that last sentence. Although we wouldn't have many races if all bar the top ten jockeys changed career and I get the strong feeling that it isn't easy for graduates to get a job these days, let alone a re-trained jockey.
His win in the GN was almost 3 years ago. If he has any sense he'll have invested it in a house so that he has smaller mortgage payments to cover, but it's not exactly enough to keep him for the rest of his life is it? And don't forget that his agent will again have taken 10% and he will have had to hand over 20% in tax. The £50k is more like £35k, which again is not exactly enough to retire on. No one is saying that we should be wailing and gnashing our teeth in their behalf, but we need more than 10 jockeys in the game to be able to ride all the horses, so it just isn't possible for all of them to push themselves to hit those heights. Don't forget it's not just about the jockeys themselves. If they're attached to a yard that is having a quiet spell due to a virus or whatever,there is nothing they can do about it.
Alternatively £58 for one ride isn't bad if you consider when in the middle of the season he is likely to be on over 20 horses a week.
Regardless of wether the jockeys wages are increased, there will still be plenty of jockeys prepared to ride, just the same as there will always be people prepared to stack shelves in Tesco's for a living. If these jockeys want more money then they have to prove themselves and move up the pecking order. The likes of McCoy and Gerraghty didn't become the best around overnight, they had to prove themselves. If a jockey isn't moving up the pecking order then they clearly aren't talented enough, so they should be happy with the cards they were delt, or they should consider a career change, and find a job that will pay them more. It's the same in alot of sports, outside the top 16 Snooker players, there isn't alot of money, and outside the top darts players there isn't much money, yet you still get 200 pros enter the big tournaments every year. So its the same for the guys at the bottom of these sports, and if they want more money they have to prove themselves by winning matches. Most of you should know, that you don't get anything for nothing in this life. You have to work for it
I'm delighted to see others advocating a Tote monopoly. For me it has always been a no-brainer. The amount the bookies put back into racing is pitiful. The real income of jockeys has steadily deteriorated over the decades. My grandfather was a journeyman flat jockey between the wars and while he was riding became an very wealthy young man. It did not last as his career was curtailed but he was much better off than the "journeymen" of today.
Fulkes.....If there ever was a tote monopoly I would stop gambling on horse's and so would millions of other punters, so it probably wouldn't result in more money for the levy. It is hard enough for punters to show a profit, but they have a fighting chance with the bookies betting to on average 108%. The tote take 40% out of the pot, which means they bet to a ridiculous 160% which makes it impossible to show a profit long term
I live in a country of 22,750,000 people. We love a punt. Although we have bookies on course and can get fixed odds online, the vast majority of horse gambling in this country goes through the various totes. I don't know how many folk bet on racing, but I'd say that millions bet at some stage during the year. Everyone and his dog will have a flutter on the Melbourne Cup. Some may indeed give up the punt if the tote is introduced over there, but they will be the losers. Bookies will still be in the game. As for the tote "take," it does not have to be crippling. The average take on win and place and is 14.5pc. The more exotic the bet, the higher the take. Quinella 14.75pc, exacta 16.5pc, doubles 17pc etc.The max take is pegged at 25pc, for footytab. The above deductions, pull in huge sums each year. So any system that sets it's targets at rates above these, is just thievery. The tote has it faults, but it's not a great monster lurking under the bed.
I would happily take a winner at 2/1 instead of 3/1 if it means horse racing not only survives but flourishes
Shergar - your lack of sympathy I find staggering, as also is yoru sggestion that jockeys should ditch racing and go to college to assist them in finding better paid employment, of course this is an option but do we want to be left with one meeting a day with every race a 4 runner affair because the big boys are the only who can survive ? PN - thanks for this. Whilst I obviously sypathise with jockeys I know similar issues exist is most sports - I've been very close to cricket for many years and there are a significant number of players who are 10-12 year veterans in the peak of their careers who barely earn enough to pay the bills. I'm not sure higher riding fees are the answer, this can only come from the owners and if their costs are forced to unsustainable levels they could (especially in the current climate) walk away from the sport causing all sorts of problems for trainers and potentially the welfare of the horses. I think the RP article is timed to add further weight to the whip argument - I didn't see Rubys interview last night but maybe the jockeys see collective media attention on the issue (for NH jockeys) as the best way to make change happen
The Tote train has left the station, sadly. A bookmaker now owns it. So "racing" now has no option other than to work with the bookmakers and courses to try to get a fair return from the punter's pound. Tariffs are a good place to start imo, and have been reasonably effective so far. Many racecourses, incidentally, now receive an additional income stream from media rights, and have the capacity to put more into prize money. Those courses that can't or won't fund races properly shouldn't really expect the support of owners or trainers.
When I get time I'll put a thread up on the recent/current Pitch Battle ongoing between bookmakers and racecourses - but having reviewed the charges on course bookies pay to stand at courses (has been 5 times entrance for years) the new rates that will come into force shortly (Ascot 16 times entrance) will see many bookies walk away from the industry and/or tighter margins as they seek to recover the additional costs of attending their place of work. This will result in less income for the racecourses which means they can contribute less by way of prize money, I can see racecourses going under in the next 5 years and I don't mean one or two, I think there's a serious danger of double digit courses ceasing to exist. The issue comes from the High St bookie who pays a fortune in licence and tax to operate but actually pays in inproportionate (low) figure to the levy. The Tote argument is a good one because all the money stays within the industry, but as Archers said this can never happen and if I'm honest there's something robotic about going racing in France (or other Tote monopoly country) where you stand in line, have your bet and watch the race having no idea what you'll end up winning, part of the attraction in UK courses is hunting around the ring finding the best price about your selection so I think the traditionalists also have a valid argument....
Can someone confirm what the Australian system is? When I went there many years ago there appeared to be a state-owned monopoly off course and racecourse bookmakers. That seems to make a lot of sense to me. I agree going racing would not be the same without the racecourse bookies but I would be take some persuading that Ladbrokes, Betfred, etc are doing any good for racing. I also find Shergar's lack of sympathy for struggling jockeys an insult.
I understand what you say Fulkes; it did seem a bit harsh. It is just his opinion and he does have a point that there are many people worse off. Also I suppose that in any walk of life the cream rises to the top and live like Lords whilst beginners and the not so goods have a disproportionately lesser standard of living. I'm not taking sides here; just accepting that it's interesting how opinions can differ so wildly.
