It’s a tough life for most jockeys, as McDonald’s week shows
THE LIFE of a jockey looks glamorous on television when you see him/her being led into a cheering parade ring after winning a big race, but for all except the really elite few at the top it can be a tough and sometimes dangerous profession, and the pay can be quite average.
Take top flight flat jockey P.J. McDonald from Taghmon, one of the hardest-working riders in Britain, to illustrate what is involved in an average week such as the one just ended.
He had a whopping 35 rides in various British tracks during last week for three winners and four seconds, none beaten more than half a length, including two short heads and a head.
He had no luck at Chelmsford on Monday and had one losing ride at Haydock on Tuesday, but he did get off the mark for the week at Wolverhampton on Wednesday with Streak Lightning (11/5) for Mark Johnston, and doubled up when getting home by a head on Queen Mia (9/2) for Declan Carroll, having also suffered defeats by a head and a neck.
It was off to Beverley on Thursday for six rides, and the only reward was a couple of seconds for Jim Bethell, including another frustrating short head margin on Hesselwood (11/2) who pulled quite hard early on.
It was back down to Kempton on Friday and he did well to be second on 20/1 shot, Swinley Forest, for Brian Meehan. He had four rides at Sandown on Saturday and five at Newmarket on Sunday, but had little to show for them. That all represents a lot of miles and hard work.
The prize money for most of the bread and butter races is pretty paltry in Britain, with purses of between five and six thousand pounds the usual in this pandemic era, with things a bit better in Ireland though there have been cuts here as well.
A flat jockey in Britain gets 7% for any win, and 4% for a place, plus a set fee of £120 per ride. The jump riders get £165 per race. In Ireland, the fee is €161 per race for the flat and €185 for the jumps.
Ten per cent of all course earnings usually goes to the jockey’s agent, and further deductions are made for valet services, insurance, on-course physios, and to the people who administer the riding fees. It is estimated about a quarter of earnings from riding fees is gone in these deductions.
And then there are expenses and tax, with lots of travel and wear and tear on the transport being a major one, with the distances being very long in Britain where some of the riders need to employ drivers for safety reasons. Most jockeys are self-employed and they can off-set some expenses against tax.
At the top end of the game the elite few can earn big money, and some of them are on very valuable retainers where they always make themselves available to some of the bigger owners.
The Racing Post estimated in a recent article that the average jockey will earn about £30,000 Stg./ €35,000 a year after tax and expenses, and there are far less opportunities in Ireland with fewer meetings per year.
Compared to other elite sports such as soccer, rugby, golf, snooker, etc., even at the lower levels, this is poor enough, and don’t forget those apprentices and work riders trying to make their way will be much less than this.
And when you consider the long hours, gruelling travel and physical danger they endure, we think it’s fair to say every pound and euro is money very well earned.
Of course, many are driven by the dream of hitting the big time at places like Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom and Newmarket in Britain, or Punchestown, Fairyhouse, Leopardsstown or the Curragh here in Ireland.