When in 1944 National Velvet took 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor to victory in the Grand National, a star was born. As Velvet Brown, Taylor's international career was assured. Yet although the horse, 'The Pie' was trained rigorously for the race by a young Mickey Rooney, Taylor was not subjected to the usual regime for jockeys. Urging the horse to the winning post did not mean she spent hours sweating in the sauna, exercised vigorously from day to day, suffered a restricted food intake, or renounced drinking water whilst swathed in doonas and multiple sweaters through long nights to rid her body of the liquids lurking within.
Not until she was older did the weight gain-weight loss cycle finally take over Elizabeth Taylor's life. Some forty years on, although only 5'4" in height, throughout the 1980s she topped the scales at 180lbs, dropped to 119, then yo-yo-ed back and forth.between the two. Along with movie-making, romance and marriage, years of drinking wine and spirits were interspersed with drying-out at the Betty Ford Clinic. Canapés and lashings of caviar surrendered to double and triple hamburgers-with-cheese, to be replaced by lettuce leaves and grapefruit, as a prelude to southern fried chicken and French fries.
'Though ultimately ruled out as winner because Velvet did not ride in the saddle to the victor's enclosure, The Pie did not suffer the fate of so many horses running the Grand National. Each year, on average, three equine fatalities occur during the three-day calendar. Since 1839, the generally accepted starting date of the famed steeplechase, some sixty-six horses have died during the final race of National Velvet fame. Since 1984, twenty-two horses have met their death on that last day.
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The danger to the runners and the efforts of animal rights demonstrators have resulted in the building of a new on-site veterinary surgery at Aintree racecourse. Five 'mobile' vets are on hand to respond immediately to falls and injuries, with more positioned elsewhere on the ground. Horse ambulances and police escorts are ready to transport injured animals to University of Liverpool veterinary facilities when the Aintree surgery is inadequate. At the finishing post, water and oxygen assist labouring horses, while jumps have been modified in response to protests. Still, few horses complete the course, most dropping out through accidents and injury. Of those that do not die at the jumps, many never race again.
Horses are endangered not only when running the Grand National. Animal Aid UK reports on a study 'showing that for every 22 races, at least one horse suffers an injury severe enough to prevent him or her from finishing a race'. Another study estimates that annually '800 Thoroughbreds die from racing-related injuries in North America'. Many are put down through a reluctance on the part of owners to pay veterinary costs, whilst others are raced despite their injuries.
As for the British and Irish racing industries, Animal Aid UK says that every year some 18,000 foals are born, with 'only around 40% going on to become racers'. Of the racers, 'around 400' die annually – 'raced to death'. Being bred for speed rather than strength, 'many sustain limb and other injuries, and are shot'. Further, race horses 'commonly develop serious racing-related illnesses such as bleeding lungs and gastric ulcers'. Whipping – although counterproductive through causing pain and 'making horses fearful and distracted', is employed by jockeys seeking to spur horses on.
Money dictates action. In horseracing, the highest paying races run 2- and 3-year-olds in competition, meaning horses are forced into training and racing before their skeletons mature. Under-developed bone-growth plates means horses frequently suffer injuries and ailments of the lower-limbs, including 'fractures, pulled ligaments, and strained tendons'. Such injuries are 'common in horse racing'. As well, Animal Aid UK investigations have found 'top breeding stallions to be over-worked and kept isolated from other horses for years'. Meanwhile, mares kept for breeding 'are subjected to an endless cycle of pregnancy often involving use of drugs and other artificial interventions'.
As for the 60% of horses left behind as 'not making the grade', their future lies in 'repeatedly changing hands in a downward spiral of neglect' or being sent to the slaughterhouse.
So, what of the jockeys?
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The media assails readers, listeners and viewers with stories of 'top models' starving themselves to death or at least to skeletal dimensions, with 'celebrities' aping their mannequin sisters. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating followed by strict dieting are accepted as endemic within the modeling, movie and celebrity industries. Governments establish inquiries and set up panels and committees to investigate the media's role in promoting or at least prompting girls' and women's embrace of the search for the 'size zero' body: no longer is it enough to be a '10'.
So where are the inquiries, committees and concerns about the men who 'must' diet to maintain their jobs and increase their number of rides? Although the racing industry does not influence millions of men to emulate jockey-body-image, the impact of the need to maintain low weight is influential on all who take up riding in races.
The BBC reports on a study finding 82% of ninety-nine jockeys surveyed dieted, taking 'extreme measures' including 'exercising with "sweat suits", fasting, skipping meals or vomiting before a race'. Jockeys aimed at maintaining weights below their natural body-weight, with one, Tony McCoy, known to 'slim down' to 1½ stone below his natural weight, weighing in at 10 stone for some races, albeit measuring 5'10" tall. Defending such practices, McCoy says: 'It's standard procedure really … [T]here are few fitter sportsmen than jockeys. If you were drastically dehydrated you wouldn't be able to perform at your optimum level.'
'Pro' and 'con' advocates weigh into the argument, asserting on the one hand that obesity 'poses just as many dangers', whilst on the other, 'convincing research' is quoted as finding that 'rapid weight loss' has a negative impact on both performance and health, with 'dehydration methods the most risky'. Susan Lennie and Nora Ni Fhlannagain's study found dehydration 'can cause changes in blood flow, body temperature and cardiovascular function', effects going beyond the physical to 'mood swings, poor decision-making and fatigue'. Further, 'sweating in the bath' – a dehydration method favoured by many jockeys – may cause lack of concentration which 'might lead to more accidents while riding' as well as dictating slower or lesser recovery from concussion and head injuries. To counter this, Luke Harvey (retired jockey turned BBC race commentator) says no jockeys of his acquaintance suffered any ill health through weight loss, and methods designed to shed water had no ill effects upon him during his riding career.
Historical records list not only exercise, dieting, Turkish baths and other sweating measures, but laxatives, purgatives, Epsom salts, pills and homemade remedies – with tapeworms as last resort. Although some jockeys survived without apparent detriment, others were not so fortunate. 'Severe reducing' was surmised as 'the culprit behind an epidemic of fatal lung diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis among jockeys', whilst:
'In a single day, to make weight on a horse, [jockey Sunny James] Fitsimmonds endured purgative, an entire afternoon in a Turkish bath, heavy exercise on horseback and on foot while swaddled in several sweaters and a muffler, topped off with an hour standing inches from a roaring brick kiln. He lost 13 lbs. Thick tongued and groggy; he won the race by a nose but could not repeat the weight loss performance and retired from the saddle not much later. He soon experienced the first shooting pains from the severe arthritis that would grotesquely disfigure his body. He came to believe that one terrible day of reducing may have triggered the onset of the crippling disease.'
History records psychological effects, too:
'There was the mental toll. [Former jockey and trainer Woody] Stephens described his realisation that he could no longer take the punishment of reducing as "the biggest disappointment of my life." The legendary 19th century European jockey Fred Archer understood the emotion. Falling into severe depression attributed to his taking constant doses of purgative to fight a weight problem he could not bear, he shot himself to death at age 29.'
Today, jockeys can find help online. How to Reach Ideal Jockey Weight says jockeys must 'maintain a certain weight or they'll be too heavy for their horses to carry with enough speed to win', must also 'maintain enough stamina to compete in their grueling sport', yet methods to 'stay slender' can be 'as demanding as the competition faced on the track'. Before adopting diet-and-exercise regime, visiting a doctor, and 'making an appointment' with trainer and nutritionist is advised, for:
'Jockeys are usually thin to begin with, so losing more weight for the big race can be a tricky proposition. Many jockeys binge eat and then purge to make the weight. A doctor can provide a full work up … , including blood tests to show how your organs are functioning. Let the doctor determine a safe, yet competitive weight for you.'
'The pros' (nutritionist and trainer) will 'prescribe a plan allowing you to lose weight gradually while eating the right foods', including prescription supplements 'because your overall caloric intake will be reduced'. Jockeys should ensure, with trainer and nutritionist, that they 'are getting enough food to support the number of calories [they] are burning' Then:
'Weigh yourself every day. A pound one way or the other can be the difference between winning and losing …
'Hit the sauna or steam room before the race if you need to. By sweating water weight, you can ring out the last few pounds …
'Take a water removal pill. You can buy the pills at most vitamin stores …
'Eat lightly the day before the race. You can easily shave a pound or two off since your metabolism will still be firing as it usually does with your workout routines …'
These tips appear with the caution that a sauna should not be necessary 'if you have followed a steady, healthy regime'; 'using a sauna just before a race can weaken you' and after a race, 'rehydration to replace lost water' is advised. Yet the site advertises 'related searches' – How to Lose Weight, Weight Loss Diet Tips, Lose Weight Tips, Weight Loss Diet Plan, and Lose Weight Diet, and 'sponsored links':
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No doubt aspiring models, celebrity aspirants and would-be movie stars could learn a thing or two from the jockeys.
Regulations outlaw drug use in horse racing – both for horses and jockeys. Under Victorian racing rules, prohibited substances include 'Nandrolone' (anabolic steroid) and dexamethasone 21-isonicotinate (a corticosteroid). Under the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Victoria) therapeutic substances can be administered to horses under registered veterinarians' authority only. Albeit these laws can be breached, they nonetheless exist to control industry abuses. Other jurisdictions have been less vigilant. In the United States, after Eight Belles died in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, and steroids were discovered in the victor Big Brown, New York introduced tougher drug rules.
However, jurisdictions vary, and drugs – therapeutic and performance-enhancing – continue to feature, while everywhere this so-called 'sport of kings' is performed, therapeutic drugs can effectively act as performance enhancing drugs, when used to keep injured horses on the track.
Yet not only prohibited substances and prohibited use of substances should be in issue. Perhaps in addition to attention paid to racing industry drugs, it is time to focus on methods used to make jockeys attractive as riders. Just as starvation diets and over-reckless exercise regimes used to 'enhance' catwalk-appearance are recognised as damaging to women – and male models, such methods employed to enhance jockeys' employability-by-weight on the race track should be recognised, too, as potentially damaging to their health and well-being.
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