Why are jockeys able to compete professionally for so long?

Retirement is often a touchy subject in sport. No one wants to be the first to suggest an athlete is over the hill or past their best. Most want to bow out on their own terms and, whether it is in football, tennis, cricket, golf or even snooker, the general acceptance is the dreaded time will come in your 30s or, at a push, early 40s. So why is the bar set so much higher when it comes to the longevity of jockeys?

Frankie Dettori has been dominating headlines throughout the 2019 Flat season, but the 48-year-old's prominence at the very top despite his advancing years is far from a new phenomenon in racing. All-time greats Lester Piggott and Bill Shoemaker both rode their last winners at 58.

'Big Money' Mike Smith and Yutaka Take have scored top-level wins in their 50s this year, while at a lesser level, 65-year-old Perry Ouzts has won more than 7,000 races since his first success in 1973, including 49 this year.

Mike Smith continues to win Grade 1s in his 50sCredit: Michael Reaves (Getty Images)

So there are countless examples, not to mention current weighing room stalwarts John Egan, Gerald Mosse and Niall McCullagh. It therefore begs the question, why do jockeys have such long careers?

How important is physical fitness?

Racing is a physical sport, but the emphasis on physicality in, for example, rugby, football and cricket is almost certainly greater. Before a Six Nations game in February, a member of the Scottish rugby team flat out insisted the ferocious physicality "will be the basis of a result for us". Physicality is rarely emphasised as being crucial to the result of a race.

Evidently controlling heavy, flighty animals and the inevitable falls associated with the role requires an element of physicality, but as Egan states, that is a given with the current generation: "We are all physically fit now, you have to be."

But there is being physically fit to ride for a few minutes and there is being physically fit enough to run hard and tackle for 90 minutes. The different types of strength required are difficult to compare, as is the reliance on concepts such as hand-eye co-ordination which is vital in sports like cricket and snooker. However, the variance in the crucial physical attributes required for racing and for other sports likely helps explain jockey longevity, at least partially.

Allied to physical fitness, pride can be a factor in sportspeople retiring, with the phrase "quitting on their own terms" often banded about, be it by Pete Sampras or, more recently, Peter Crouch. Andrew Thornton alluded to it when retiring last year at the age of 45, but it possibly demonstrates the feeling emerges later for jockeys.

The physical nature of football, for example, means the average retirement age, according to the Professional Footballers Association, is 35. In the US the average professional athlete’s career is over by 33, while in American football it is even younger at 28.

What drives jockeys to keep going?

Classic-winning rider Egan, 51, believes age is rarely a factor when the decision comes to stop.

He said: "The longer you ride, the more experience you get and the better you get. If you're good at something, why would you want to stop? As long as your heart is in it and the bottle is still good, that's it, you've still got the hunger for it.

"A lot of jockeys retire because a lot of them lose their bottle and they just stop."

Whether bottle is defined by the fear of injury or the fear of failure is open for debate. However, it is not an issue confined to jockeys. Stephen Hendry, a snooker great, stated psychological demons forced him to quit snooker at the age of 43.

Playing snooker is not as physically demanding, yet it is not uncommon for players to opt out earlier than jockeys. One logical explanation would be players of the calibre of Hendry experience winning more often than not, so when defeat becomes increasingly regular as their ability deteriorates, it is harder to handle. Jockeys grow up in a losing environment, so the fear of failure is unlikely to be significant.

John Egan: believes experience is key as a jockeyCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Jump jockeys tend not to last as long as their peers on the Flat – largely due to the heightened injury risk – but Richard Johnson remains at the peak of his powers, just days shy of his 42nd birthday on Sunday. The champion jockey has little left to achieve in the game but feels the thrill of the next winner plays a huge part.

Johnson said: "We all want to ride for as long as possible. That buzz or thrill of riding a winner, I still get that now, whether it’s at Southwell or Cheltenham in March.

"We're all doing it to make a living as well, which is part of it, but it's definitely a job where you've got to want to go to work rather than it being a chore. It's something I love doing and for me, I’ll have to get a proper job when I retire so I want to try to do this for as long as possible."

How do jockeys manage their bodies?

Rotating players is an option available to managers and coaches in team sports in order to conserve freshness for the climax of a season, but as individual competitors jockeys are not afforded the luxury of substituting a colleague to earn some prize-money for them. The racing calendar is also less defined by seasons and more of a constant cycle, with a short off-season.

One rider afforded the opportunity of managing a reduced schedule is Dettori, and his agent, Ray Cochrane, explained it has been a conscious move to help prolong the charismatic Italian’s career.

"We want to make sure he is fit and in form and not fatigued so whenever it comes to the nice horses, he’s ready."

Dettori’s stunning run of Group 1 wins this summer has showcased his durability at the highest level and been the result of a considered schedule. Of his 139 rides this year in Britain up to and including the end of Newmarket's July festival, none were on Monday, only a handful were on Tuesday outside of Royal Ascot and his three Sunday rides all came on 1,000 Guineas day. Maybe Dettori hates getting up on Mondays as much as the average mere mortal does, but it appears a strategic ploy to save his exertions for days which deserve the trademark flying dismount.

Cochrane explains the decision to largely avoid smaller meetings is also limiting the risk of injury, such as the one which ruled him out of partnering Treve for her first Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe win in 2013.

Dettori: schedule has been geared around big rides such as EnableCredit: Edward Whitaker

He said: "He's not driving five hours a day, six days a week. Just because there is racing seven days a week, it doesn't mean you have to go, unless someone is twisting your arm. John [Gosden] knows exactly where to take him and when."

Dettori’s two-year-old mounts are also down numerically in recent seasons, which Cochrane confirmed is no coincidence. "The bigger thing is being right, being fit and being injury free when those big days come along."

Johnson highlighted the medical support jockeys get as a big boost to those attempting to prolong their careers in the saddle; it is notable that many jump jockeys have ridden on into their 40s in recent years, a concept that would have been largely alien 20 years ago.

He said: "We're better looked after mentally and physically, there are physios on a daily basis at the racecourses which the PJA [Professional Jockeys' Association] have managed to get in place for us. Whether it's with nutrition or mental health or anything, they’re a fantastic support system for us. Jockeys are physically fitter and healthier than they've ever been."

Richard Johnson: champion jockey highlighted the support of the PJA as keyCredit: Edward Whitaker

Is experience a valued commodity?

An ageing athlete can sometimes be seen as a potential weakness to exploit by the opposition in other sports, but Egan insists jockeys peak late and suggests experience is a valued commodity.

He said: "I genuinely think a jockey peaks at about 38, I have no doubt about it. At this game you’re learning something every day. I was riding work on a horse this morning and I learned something I never knew. You cannot beat experience.

"Everything counts when you’re older. You train better, you eat better, you go to bed earlier, you’re fitter and you have experience."

Experience can be anything from how to get the best out of a tricky mount to judging pace better or reacting to track biases quicker. For jump jockeys, experience may breed a greater sense of self-preservation and an enhanced ability to get a horse over the obstacles.

If experience is truly a valued commodity, then it helps explain why jockeys last longer than other athletes. A sharp brain can more than offset any physical decline in a sport where brute strength and speed are not key attributes.

So what's the conclusion?

Winners will always prove a tantalising prospect, particularly in a sport where losing is part and parcel, and it is clear the hunger for success drives many jockeys to compete long past competitors in other sports.

Other athletes may find the increased losses, in sports where success was routine, a bridge too far as they physically decline, whereas experience appears to offset any loss of physicality for jockeys. The necessary physicality needed to compete professionally in other sports also differs.

Self-preservation is not a notion commonly associated with racing given the immense risks involved, but experience of the many pitfalls open to jockeys only seems to serve as a protection of its own kind for the veterans of the weighing room, whilst carefully considering schedules and opportunities becomes an option for jockeys who command the profile of Dettori.

When in demand and with ability which shows no sign of diminishing, it is seemingly remarkably easy to stay in the saddle.

If you enjoyed reading this, you might like others from this series:

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How much does a jockey earn?

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