The Newmarket Racing Lad: Tradition and Change in a Marginal Occupation

Abstract

This paper describes the work of a widely seen but little known occupation, the racing lad. It relates some changes which have taken place in the organisation of work and the subjective responses to these of a significant minority of the occupation in the locality studied. Such changes as are apparent are accounted for in terms of developments in the local labour market which have served to erode the traditionalist framework within which work has been organised. At root, the core activity is seen to depend on some particularly intangible qualities which working class youngsters have typically brought to this form of work.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Staff Working Practices in UK Horseracing

“…The racing industry was already experiencing a labour shortage [20], with concerns over retention and recruitment previously high prior to lockdown [5]. Prior to the pandemic, trainers already highlighted that finding staff cover was a main source of stress, in part due to a current staff shortage in racing [5,6,[20][21][22], and thus the current circumstances are likely to exacerbate ongoing staffing issues. A recent report suggested that nearly half (46%) of stable staff surveyed are concerned about job security [23].…”

Stakeholder Perceptions of the Challenges to Racehorse Welfare

“…Research by Filby [11] identified other significant changes that were having an effect on the organisation of work in racing yards. These included, for instance, the introduction in the late 1970s of a national minimum wage for racing staff, which meant trainers found themselves having to adapt their labour processes rather quickly once a national minimum wage had to be paid.…”

“…The once ready supply of cheap labour (indentured apprentices) stopped (see Butler [12] for a more detailed explanation of indentured apprenticeship). Other factors played their part: a declining workforce lured by the opportunities available of alternative better-paid employment, an increase in the size and weight of the population and an increase in the number of horses in training [6,11]. In 1975, there were 11,491 horses in training; this has now risen to over 16,000 in 2018 [6,13] which, coupled with the introduction of Sunday racing in the 1990s [14], an increase in the fixture list from 1132 meetings in 2000 to 1508 in 2018 [6,13,15], a greater regulation in the hours stable staff can work and overtime payment, [9] has meant staff and trainers are constantly under pressure.…”

“…The title of ‘stable lad’ (male and female) has now been changed to ‘racing grooms’ [16] and has given way to a different occupational hierarchy [1,2,11,12]. This has involved a disaggregation of work roles, a polarisation of skills and knowledge and the creation of different roles within the yard.…”