A 9-Year Epidemiologic Study (2007–2015) on Race-Day Jockey Fall and Injury Incidence in Amateur Irish Horse Racing

Abstract

Context Point-to-point racing may place jockeys at risk of serious injuries due to the high incidence of falls as previously reported. Despite many advances in health and safety strategies, the incidence of falls and injuries in point-to-point racing has not been reported since 2006. Objectives To provide a longitudinal analysis of the fall and injury incidence in point-to-point horse racing jockeys in Ireland from 2007 to 2015 and compare these findings with the previous literature. Design Descriptive epidemiologic study. Setting All injuries that occurred due to a fall at every official point-to-point race meeting from 2007 to 2015 were recorded by a medical doctor using a standardized injury report form. Main Outcome Measure(s) Falls and injury rates and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs), 95% confidence intervals and percentage change were compared between point-to-point and professional racing, between previous data and the current results, and from 2007 to 2015. Results An average of 67.40 injuries/1000 falls and 9.08 injuries/1000 rides occurred in point-to-point racing, and this was reduced compared with the previous analysis. Amateur jockeys sustained an overall mean of 134.77 falls/1000 rides and the yearly means decreased over the 9 years of the study. Amateur jockeys sustained a higher fall rate than professional jockeys (flat: IRR = 35.47 [31.03, 40.54]; jump: IRR = 2.72 [2.63, 2.82]); however, their injuries/1000 falls rate was lower (flat: IRR = 0.19 [0.15, 0.24]; jump: IRR = 0.33 [0.30, 0.63]). Soft tissue injuries were predominant (43.09%), with 26.06 fractures and 9.98 concussions/1000 falls occurring. Conclusions Although injuries have been reduced since the previous analysis, more serious injuries such as fractures and concussions were more common in point-to-point racing than professional racing, possibly due to their higher fall risk. Thus, identifying strategies to reduce the fall risk in point-to-point racing should be a priority.

Incidence and risk factors for race-day jockey falls over fourteen years

“…This was similar to findings in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand where less experienced jockeys or apprentices (classified by number of career rides) had higher fall rates than professional jockeys. 15,16,21 In the United Kingdom, horses have a lower risk of fatal limb fracture when ridden by more experienced jockeys 22 and amateur jockeys have a higher rate of falls and fracture incidence than professional jockeys in Ireland point to point (jumps) racing. 15 Apprentice jockeys were only associated with jockey falls in steeplechase racing.…”

“…15,16,21 In the United Kingdom, horses have a lower risk of fatal limb fracture when ridden by more experienced jockeys 22 and amateur jockeys have a higher rate of falls and fracture incidence than professional jockeys in Ireland point to point (jumps) racing. 15 Apprentice jockeys were only associated with jockey falls in steeplechase racing. Apprentice and amateur riders were associated with jockey falls in jumps racing in Ireland and both flat and jumps racing in Australia.…”

“…12 Studies in Australia and Ireland have determined that the causes of jockey falls are related to a combination of jockey (sex, experience, previous meeting rides), horse (age, rating, race grade) and environmental (track distance, condition, field size) factors with both jockey and horse inexperience positively associated with jockey falls. [13][14][15][16] The incidence of jockey falls in New Zealand between 2008 and 2013 was 2.2/1000 rides for flat racing and 84.7/1000 rides for jumps racing with 19% and 17% of jockey falls respectively resulting in injury. 17 The pattern of riding, training, track surfaces, racing conditions and regulation vary between jurisdictions, resulting in different risk factors and jockey fall rates worldwide.…”

The External Workload of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Jockeys

“…Jockeys with low racing workloads likely supplement their work as jockeys with extra track work (daily exercise of race horses) or stable-hand duties, as occurs with failed apprentices in Britain [18,20]. Due to their low workload, they are likely also to be inexperienced in race day riding, which has been linked to horse performance [21,22]. It has been identified that riding a race is more physically demanding than riding daily track work [23] and jockeys rarely participate in additional off-horse physical training regimes except as a measure to reduce weight [17][18][19].…”

Injuries among Maryland jockeys during thoroughbred racing: 2015–2019

“…2 A single misstep or slight error may result in the jockey being thrown from the horse, potentially resulting in catastrophic injury or death. 2 While most reported injuries have been associated with falls, [3][4][5][6][7] there are also injuries that can result from training activities or simply being in close proximity to a horse. 8 Professional horse racing requires jockeys to train year-round and compete at high levels in front of millions of viewers, yet they are often under-recognised as athletes, particularly in the USA.…”