The Gentleman Magazine Issue 4 | August/September | Page 79

Dr Julia Newton for University of Oxford, said:  "These findings
are really important. It is the first step in improving the health
of current and future jockeys. The next step is to understand
how to keep jockeys riding for longer, with less injury and
greater performance. To do this we need more young jockeys
to be part of this Oxford study".
Liverpool John Moores University nutrition study
The second project, taking place at Liverpool John Moores
University (LJMU) by BHA-funded PhD researcher Dan
Martin, also a member of the Professional Jockeys Association
(PJA)’s Nutrition Team, is a qualitative study into the
horseracing industry’s perception of nutritional and weight-
making practices amongst professional jockeys.
As part of the project, a cross section of the racing industry
including jockeys and their support network, made up of
trainers, agents, jockey coaches and racecourse clerks, were
interviewed in order to try and understand the current
landscape around issues such as eating, nutrition and working
schedules.
The results indicated that an industry-wide awareness of
archaic weight-making practices and some of the associated
health implications exists in British racing. It highlighted a
perception that social factors such as support networks and
racecourse food provision can significantly impact dietary
practices and jockeys’ relationships with food, as well as the
focus often being on the horse, rather than the jockey, as an
athlete.
The study also found that a lack of nutrition education may
inhibit the development of professional athletic tendencies and
perpetuate the current issues.
Now that the data has been collected, the focus of the project
will shift towards how the identified issues can be addressed
and what educational or practical measures can be put in place
to help riders make the most of the current resources available
and ensure they are well equipped to deal with the challenges
of being an elite athlete in a weight-making sport.

which will seek to educate riders about the health risks of
undertaking repeated drastic and harmful weight loss measures
and their negative effect on performance.
The posters have been developed in conjunction with the
Professional Jockeys’ Association Nutrition Team (PJA) and
also list the nutritional and fitness support available to riders
through the PJA, BHA and John Moores University.
Dr Jerry Hill added:“The research carried out by Dan Martin
and Liverpool John Moores confirms many people’s belief
that as an industry we need to better support jockeys, trainers
and racecourses in providing information about the vital
importance of good diet and nutrition to improve wellbeing,
reduce injury and improve performance.
“The #JockeyAthleteDiet campaign is one of the first visible
outcomes of our nutrition research, which we hope will have a
positive impact. It is intentionally hard-hitting and focuses on
emotive subjects such as so-called ‘flipping’ and dehydration.
Our objective is to show our jockeys that “there is a better way”,
which will be the campaign’s strapline”.
Paul Struthers, Chief Executive of the PJA, said: “A lot of progress
has been made in this area thanks to the work of and support
offered by the team at Liverpool John Moores University, the IJF
and th