Jockey
The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries, not only from racing accidents but also, because of strict weight restrictions, from eating disorders.
[2] The word is by origin a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the word was applied to horse-dealers, postilions, itinerant minstrels and vagabonds, and thus frequently bore the meaning of a cunning trickster, a "sharp", whence the verb to jockey, "to outwit", or "to do" a person out of something.
The colours need to be significantly different to serve this purpose and are registered by each Australian state's Principal Racing Authority (PRA).
On race days the skivvy chosen is a lightweight mesh or microfibre bodysuit, sleeved or sleeveless, whereas, for track work, a more heavy-duty version may be worn.
Summarising, during an Australian race day, jockeys must wear the following: the helmet (or skullcap), goggles, silks, vest, breeches, gloves, boots, saddle and girth and stirrups.
[11] Eating disorders (such as anorexia) are also very common among jockeys, as they face extreme pressure to maintain unusually low (and specific) weights, sometimes within a five-pound (2.3 kg) margin.
[15] The bestselling biography, Seabiscuit: An American Legend chronicled the eating disorders of jockeys living in the first half of the twentieth century.
"[17] Indeed, recent research carried out in association with the Irish Turf Club measured the effects of rapid weight loss to make weight in professional and apprentice jockeys and found significant levels of dehydration; however, cognitive function was maintained, suggesting jockeys had become accustomed to performing in a dehydrated state and had potentially developed a preventative mechanism to enable them to perform under these conditions.
In the late 1970s, pioneers such as Pam O'Neill in Australia and Linda Jones from New Zealand forced jockey club officials to grant women the right to compete on an equal footing in registered races against men.
Pam created a world record for any jockey, male or female, when she rode a treble at Southport on her first day's riding.
In 2005, Andrea Leek became the first woman to ride the winner of the Grand National Hurdle (4,300 m) at Flemington when she won aboard Team Heritage.
[24] In January 2015 at Mount Gambier, South Australia, all eight races on the card were won by women jockeys: Emily Finnegan (3 wins), Clare Lindop (2), Holly McKechnie (2) and Chelsea Jokic (1).
Meriel Patricia Tufnell overcame childhood disability to ride the novice Scorched Earth to victory in the first race, the Goya Stakes at Kempton Park on 6 May 1972.
[31] In September, 1978, Karen Wiltshire, age 22, won a Salisbury handicap on The Goldstone, making her the first woman professional jockey to ride a winner in a British flat race.
Katie Walsh was on board Poker de Sivola finishing ahead of Becauseicouldntsee which was ridden by Nina Carberry.
[41] On Boxing Day 2015 Lizzie Kelly became the first female jockey to win a grade one race in Britain, on Tea For Two in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton Park.
[44] The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has set about encouraging the women who make up three quarters of the graduates from the two principal racing schools in the UK to stay in the profession as jockeys.
Sue Day became the first New Zealand female jockey winner in a totalisator race against males on 22 July 1978 when she won with the Ned Thistoll-trained Jaws in the Waybrook Handicap at Timaru.
[48] Linda Jones' first win was on Big Bickies at Te Rapa and soon after she won with Royal Petite, the first Open Handicap winner for a female jockey.
[50] In 1986 Trudy Thornton became the first woman jockey to ride in New Zealand's longest thoroughbred race, the Great Northern Steeplechase.
[54] In recent years the New Zealand jockeys premiership has been won by Lisa Allpress (2012, 2016, 2019 and 2020), Samantha Collett (2018) and Danielle Johnson (2021).
[55] In April 2017 at Timaru eight of the nine races on the card were won by women jockeys: Alysha Collett, Kylie Williams, Tina Comignaghi, Amanda Morgan and Samantha Wynne.
Recorded names of her horses include "Irish Maid", "Blue Bird", "Jimmy Rain", "Sam Carpenter", and "Little Brown Jug", the last of which she reportedly raced at Tijuana, Baja California.
[57] Anna Lee Aldred[58] (1921 – 2006) was given a license at age 18 in 1939 at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico, when officials were unable to find a rule that would bar women jockeys and she finished second by a nose in her first professional race.
Wantha Davis[59] (1918 – 2012) was known to have won over 1,000 races in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, including a famous 1949, six furlong match-race against Johnny Longden at Agua Caliente.
[60] She rode at some state-sanctioned pari-mutuel tracks, but without a license, most events were of the dusty county fair and half-mile variety of the western circuit.
However, in both actual and relative numbers as well as overall success rate, Canada has surpassed its southern neighbor in opportunities for women at the highest level;[citation needed] their respective Triple Crown series: Starting with Joan Phipps in the 1973 Breeders' Stakes, 10 different women have competed in 30 Canadian Triple Crown races, with a combined 2 wins, 3 places, 4 shows.
[67] To replace child jockeys whose use had been deplored by human rights organizations, a camel race in Doha, Qatar, for the first time featured robots at the reins.
This dominance of the sport by African Americans came to an abrupt stop in 1896 when Plessy vs. Ferguson was decided, basically legalizing segregation.
