I agree Shergars lack of empathy is quite something, and imagining Liam treadwell to have had a life changing circumstance due to winning the national is crazy. As Princess said if he took home 35k for that it would have made it a really good year for him and given him a cushion but nothing more, it does not go far these days. To raise your lifestyle you need regular income not one off hits and Liam Treadwells regular income i would imagine is quite average at best. I do have some agreement with shergar in as much as it is market forces and if they are good enough to earn a living they will and if not they will drop away but to have such little sympathy for someone whilst they are trying and testing to see if they can make it pay is sad to read. The idea that a tote monopoly would stop punters betting is the funniest idea i have heard. The punter is getting better value than ever due to betfair etc but a few years back the value was terrible with the big four as they were known simply sending 2 grand down to every gaff track to shorten up any horse they wanted for all punters at home and before that we had 10%tax and that never stopped anyone. There is also one other very big and very frightening factor to consider, many punters could not stop if they wanted to you could raise the book to 170% and it would make no difference, gambling is addictive and very few are punting for investment or value but rather addiction. It's like heroin users suggesting if the price of tin foil goes up i will have to consider stopping.
Why would I feel sorry for jockeys, they earn a living out of riding horse's, something I imagine 99% of them love doing. In all walks of life there are high earners and there are low earners, and its the same in sport. If these sportsmen don't have the talent to move up the ranks, and earn decent money. Then they should either be happy with a low wage, or find a new job. End of the day there will always be jockeys at the bottom of the pecking order, prepared to ride for very little, the same as there will always be cleaners cleaning the toilets at the airport for very little, these people are not going to disappear just because there wages aren't upped. If these people want more money then it is there job to better themselves. Atleast jockeys are doing a job they actually enjoy, which is something very few working people in this country can say
I don't think anyone is asking for your sympathy but a little understanding wouldn't seem unreasonable - your attitide reminds me of a few traders I knew years ago, arrogant to the core. In an industry that provides a great many people with so much pleasure a basic understanding of the sacrifices a jockey makes to ride horses, because it's what he/she wants to do in life, shouldn't be difficult. I can't remember jockeys moaning about their wages, what I do remember is jockeys displaying their disapproval of an authority that are imposing unreasonable penalties for what most believe to be minor offences, and it's these penalties that are imapcting on their ability to earn a living. You worked in the betting industry, I expect there are people there who want to work in that industry because they like racing and want to feel closer/part of a sport they have a passion for, I don't believe that gives their employers the right to penalise them unfairly. You may also want to familiarise yourself with the work so many jockeys do for charity, not just the marquee jockeys but the journeymen as well, who spend hours at dinners, auctions and a host of functions often at unsociable hours in relation to their working hours, all of it unpaid and for the benefit of others less fortunate that themselves.
To put the cat amongst the pigeons and seem like a right royal prick . . . It could be argued that the best jockeys are losing out with the set riding fee. It seems strange that an owner has to pay the same fee whether Ruby Walsh is riding or whether some 7lb claimer is on board. If market forces were allowed to take effect then the big jockeys would earn relatively more than they do now, and the smaller names relatively less. I appreciate that a retainer can be a large part of a top jockey's payment but there are still plenty without them, including Ruby Walsh. I think i am right in saying that he only has 'gentlemen's agreements' with both Nicholls and Mullins. That way he can pick and choose what he wants to ride and not be tied down to one stable. Come the GC, i don't think there is anything to stop him riding Long Run if he were offered the chance. I must say, on a more serious note, that the predicament that many jockeys endure is shocking. For people that risk their own lives for the enjoyment of others, even if they enjoy doing it, is a tough way to live. It's not only the fact that they just get by, it's when they break their leg and are out for 6 months with no income from riding. I also agree with Shergar to a certain extent but i am perhaps not quite so cold-hearted!
Zenyatta, there is talk of creating a tiered riding fee system, though I'm sure they'd have to insist on a minimum fee of at least the current riding fee to protect the small-time jockeys.
I agree with Shergar in many ways actually. They're not paid brilliantly and of course they probably deserve more money but there's millions of people in the country who could probably say the same .
