IRISH flat racing jockeys are finding it increasingly tough to make the weight. Doctors are warning that unless racing weights increase, fewer Irish men will qualify as flat jockeys, and more women and overseas riders will have to be used.

A new study has found that one in four Irish flat jockeys has body fat of 6% or less, as they struggle to make the sport’s stringent weight standards. While a normal healthy male has up to 18% body fat, and the ideal is 10% or more, two-thirds of flat jockeys don’t reach this and one was as low as 5%.

“The average body fat was 9%, and that is low,” said Dr Giles Warrington of the University of Limerick, who is conducting the study of 27 flat and jump jockeys with finance from the Turf Club. “In other weight category sports, such as rowing or boxing, the range is 8% to 12%.

“As a society we are getting bigger. We are going to reach a situation where more female or South American jockeys will have to be used. On the basis of this study we would recommend an increase of five to seven pounds in the minimum weight on the flat (8 stone) and in the median weight of flat jockeys (about 8.5 stone).”

Scientists have also found a worrying level of osteopenia among jump jockeys, with 40% suffering from the bone thinning condition which can result in osteoporosis if not treated. Jump jockeys fall on average once every 10 races, and the scientists are checking whether the high fracture rate is linked to poor bone density, which is worst among amateur jockeys.

The results of the study are to be presented in November at a joint meeting of the Turf Club and British jockeys’ club in London. There is growing concern in racing circles at the damage jockeys are doing to their health, highlighted by the death of Emanuel Sanchez, who collapsed in the jockeys’ shower room after a race in Virginia last July. He went into a coma and died.

“We know we have a problem,” said Adrian McGoldrick, doctor for the Curragh racecourse, who is also conducting the study. “The jockeys we picked are aged from 18 to their mid-forties, and the worst statistics are among the youngest.”

Walter Halley, the Turf Club’s chief medical officer, said he was concerned about the lengths riders would go to in order to keep their weights down. “Eating disorders are a possible spin-off. We are determined to do something about this.”

Jim Murphy, the general manager of RACE, the jockeys’ training school, said the maxmimum weight for apprentices has been raised to 9st, up from 7.5st a decade ago. “Had we not raised it, we wouldn’t have filled the quota,” he said.

John Cullen, 28, a Carlow jockey who won the Galway Plate last year, has only just discovered healthy eating habits following a lifestyle “makeover” by RTE’s Health Squad programme. He has achieved a constant weight of 10 stone 11 lbs after years of dieting, sometimes losing up to 10lbs in two days by running with several layers of clothes.

“I’ve only learnt recently that you can eat loads of healthy food and not put on weight but you can eat a small amount of fast food and put on loads,” he said. “This was the first time I was helped with diet.”

Warrington said that the constant starvation and dehydration that jockeys endure can do long-term damage to their metabolism, and leaves them at risk of diabetes and obesity in later life.

While the average weight of interns at the National Race Academy since 1979 has gone up by 30lbs or 37%, Warrington says the minimum weight standards for flat jockeys has only increased by 6% in the same time.

The Turf Club is so alarmed by the preliminary findings that it is considering hydration tests for jockeys before races. It has promised a period of consultation once the study is concluded, with a view to introducing new weight structures for flat and jump racing next season.

Additional reporting by Lynne Kelleher

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