Horse racing (jockeys)

Is horse racing dangerous for jockeys?

Yes, more than almost any other sport most people can name. One flat race ride carries about 5 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary, based on deaths counted against rides in Australia, Britain and France. That is roughly the risk of one skydive, and ten times that of a ride on a leisure horse (see horse riding). The difference is that a jockey rides hundreds of races. On our estimate, someone who rides 500 races a year takes on about 2,500 micromorts, before counting falls on the gallops.

This page covers race-day riding by professional and amateur jockeys. The racehorses carry their own, larger risks; we do not score them here.

How often do jockeys die?

Racing authorities record every fall and every race ride, so the death rates are measured directly. Four sets of figures give a consistent picture for flat racing:

We score flat racing, where most rides happen: the range runs from 3.4 to 6.7 micromorts, and we use the middle, 5. Each figure rests on a handful of deaths, so the true rate could be somewhat higher or lower. Australia's five deaths were all on the flat, four of them during the race and one in the mounting yard.

Over time the toll has fallen. A 2013 study counted 152 jockey deaths in the US, Canada and Mexico from 1940 to 2012. In the US, deaths fell from about 2.3 a year before 1980 to about 1.2 a year after.

Jump racing and point-to-point

Jumping fences multiplies the number of falls. In Ireland in 2011–2015, jump jockeys fell in 49.5 of every 1,000 rides, against 3.8 in flat races. Japanese data for 2003–2017 tell the same story: 44.4 falls per 1,000 jump rides against 1.4 on the flat.

Flat falls are rarer but harder. Irish flat jockeys were injured in 353 of every 1,000 falls, against 204 over jumps, and concussion was more common after flat falls. The horses are running faster, and the jockey is often in a tight field where the horses behind cannot avoid them.

Amateur point-to-point racing is the riskiest kind for falls. Irish amateurs fell 135 times per 1,000 rides in 2007–2015, more than twice the professional jump rate, although each fall was less likely to cause an injury.

What injures jockeys

Waller and colleagues counted 6,545 injuries among about 2,700 licensed US jockeys in 1993–1996, or 606 per 1,000 jockey-years. Put simply, the average jockey was hurt badly enough to need treatment more than once every two years. About 19% of injuries were to the head or neck, and 35% happened entering, inside or leaving the starting gate.

In California in 2007–2011, about half of falls left the jockey injured, and about 30% ended with a trip to hospital. The leading cause of falls was the horse breaking down or dying mid-race, behind 29% of Thoroughbred falls and 44% of Quarter Horse falls. That is the part of the risk no jockey can ride around.

How jockeys reduce the risk

• Wear a certified helmet and body protector every time, including on the gallops, and replace a helmet after any heavy impact.
• Take the concussion protocol seriously. Flat falls in Ireland caused more concussions, and riding again too soon raises the risk of a second, worse injury.
• Learn to fall. A study of 80 race falls found that jockeys who held on to the reins or did not tuck and roll were more likely to land head first or be struck by a horse.
• Be careful at the start. The starting gate is where many US injuries happen; let handlers settle a fractious horse before loading.
• Respect fatigue. In New Zealand, the fall rate rose with each extra ride a jockey had that day, which the authors link to fatigue.
• Choose rides with care in jump racing, especially novice horses and amateur races, where falls are most common.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (70) rests on about 5 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per flat race ride from Australian, British and French data. Injury risk (30) is low because jockeys are hurt so often, and controllability (40) reflects how many falls start with the horse rather than the rider. Rescue and environment (88) is high: medical help is at the rail within minutes. Overall, horse racing scores 57, well below leisure riding and close to motor racing.