Game of the small man

RIDING race horses is for the small man.

That’s because horse racing the world over is based on a handicap system — the better the horse, the more weight it will be asked to carry. This is to (supposedly) equalise the chances of the runners in a race. But the weight allotted is not very heavy to protect the horse.

In professional racing, the top weight rarely exceeds 10 stones or 140lbs (anything above that could be construed as cruelty to animal) while the bottom weight can be 7.7 stones (or 105lbs). Both weights can be considered light going by the poundage of the average person.

So to make it in the riding business, you have to be sort of a midget or be prepared to live a life of deprivation through constant wasting (reducing weight) just to make the handicap allotted to the horse you are engaged to ride.

The thing to remember about wasting is that it’s more about dieting than exercise per se. Some “heavy” jockeys run under the hot sun wearing layers of clothing just to waste a few unwanted lbs. The method is extreme but the solution only temporary. What took weeks to shed usually took only a matter of days to put back on.

To waste effectively, it’s best to consult a specialist because a scientifically-designed diet often produces the desired result without too much discomfort.

Turkish baths help take off weight but dehydration can weaken the body which is not good for the jockey who must be in top physical shape to control a power-packed thoroughbred racehorse.

Sticking to his riding weight is always a good plan for the jockey. While more riding engagements may come his way if he forces himself to waste, the setback is he may not be strong enough (due to weight loss) to bring the best out of his mounts.

A jockey should be able to ride in comfort without being too light (through wasting) to do himself any justice. It is a great mistake to try and ride a couple of pounds lighter but below his full strength just because by so doing, he can get some more rides. It’s far better to produce good results riding a little heavier even if it means sacrificing some engagements. Booting home some winners is definitely better than none at all.

If a jockey is asked to ride a horse with a handicap he is not sure of making, he shouldn’t lie about it. Nothing annoys a trainer more than finding a jockey overweight at the scale because by then, it is usually too late to find a good replacement.

The tremendous pressure to be thin has caused jockeys to take diet pills, laxatives, go on fasts, sit in saunas for hours, run in rubber suits and puke up their meals. The problem is not new. Horse racing’s winningest rider, Laffit Pincay Jr, was famous for eating half a peanut for lunch.

One local jockey I knew had rather thick-set bones. Anything lighter than 8.10 stones (122lbs) and he would be watching the race from the jockey’s room. But he was a very determined fellow.

During one race meeting, he was given a mount he couldn’t pass up on. But to get the ride, he had to waste at least eight lbs of his natural body weight (8.8 stones or 120lbs). And he had to do it just two days before the race meeting. It was no stroll in the park but he remained undaunted.

So putting on a track suit, plus three extra thick shirts, he went into forced wasting mode, running round the racetrack under the hot afternoon sun and also in the evening.

After sweating it out for two days, and starving most of the time, he achieved his target by going down to 8.0 stones (112 lbs) — a drop of 8 lbs and also four lbs lighter than his mount’s handicap (8.4 stones or 116 lbs). That meant he could take the ride. And he was happy.

The poor fellow looked dehydrated, his girth had shrunk three belt holes. Despite his emaciated condition, he was, remarkably, still up to the task on race day, booting his mount home by three lengths in one race and finishing third on a another horse two races later.

“If you want something badly enough, you will find a way to get it,” he said.

Admittedly, his method of losing weight is not everyone’s cup of tea, especially to those who are “hot” on food.

Requisites

Apart from the issue of weight, the other requisites of a top-class jockey are that he must be alert, bold and determined and have the fullest confidence in himself.

And of all aspects of race-riding, that of tactics is the most important. No matter how much a horse has in hand, wrong tactics can lose it a race. In the same way, a horse can beat a better opponent simply through its jockey outwitting the other rider.

By and large, tactics depend on the peculiarities of your own horse and those of your most dangerous opponents, the way in which a race is run, the state of going and the nature of the course.

As a rule, the trainer will tell the jockey exactly how to ride the horse but sometimes, he may only say “ride him as you find him and according to the way the race is run.”

Of course, you don’t tell great jockeys how to ride a race. All you can do is to tell them about the form of the horse and its habits. Telling Lester Piggott how to ride a horse is like telling Pele how to score goals! True professionals know their stuff. Give them the very basic information and they will do the rest.

Every profession has its rougher side and horse racing is no exception. It’s not advisable to start making a practice of rough and dirty riding because the jockey will soon find himself in trouble both with the racing stewards and his fellow jockeys.

The rules of racing are stringent and applied without hesitation to deter foul play. The penalties can range from a light slap on the wrist to a heavy rap on the knuckles. The harshest punishment is a ban from the racetrack for a specified period or for life.

So a jockey must be able to look after himself — the more he knows about the sort of tricks that may be played on him, the less likely he is to fall for them.

At the end of the day, whichever way you look at it, a jockey still has to be small to fit into scale of the game. Small but strong and perhaps live on the hungry side of life.

Professional riders have to constantly watch their weight. Their livelihood depends on it.