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Weight Breaks for California Jockeys in Pipeline

Following through on a discussion started at last month's meeting, California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) advanced Thursday a rule amendment designed to provide jockeys with weight breaks that are more in line with 21st Century human physiology.

By unanimous vote, the CHRB proposed Thoroughbred rule changes that would raise the minimum weight for established riders from 112 pounds to 114 pounds in overnight races (subject to apprentice allowances) and from 103 to 105 pounds in handicap and stakes races.

The board also advanced a separate amendment that would reduce the amount of overweight a Thoroughbred jockey can carry from seven pounds to five.

According to a staff analysis published in the CHRB's meeting packet, the overweight reduction change “is being done in conjunction with raising the weight minimums for jockeys by two pounds based on discussions with the Jockeys' Guild and racing secretaries.

“Both of these groups agreed that two pounds will help riders' health but not force the racing secretaries to change their average assigned weight too much. Therefore, if we are raising the minimum jockey weight two pounds, we need to drop the maximum allowable overweight two pounds so that we are not adding weight to horses which could introduce animal welfare concerns.”

For Quarter Horse races, “the minimum weight to be carried shall be 120 pounds, regardless of any otherwise permitted allowance,” according to the version of the amendment provided in the meeting packet.

A different rule change also discussed a month ago by the CHRB that would start apprentice allowances at seven pounds (instead of the current 10) is also in the pipeline.

Scott Chaney, the CHRB's executive director, said making amendments to that existing rule are “a lot more extensive” and will be brought before the board at a later date.

There was only minimal commissioner discussion and no members of the public commented on the weight issues. A final vote will take place at a future meeting after another opportunity for commenting.

Opening day sellout looms

In light of management-imposed attendance limitations for the first day of the season July 22, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) president Josh Rubinstein told the CHRB that, “We expect opening day to sell out later this week.”

Rubinstein said that Del Mar will be “significantly reducing general admission ticketing” for opening day only without mentioning a specific attendance cap number.

“Based on the feedback we received in 2021, especially when we hosted the Breeders' Cup, [we have] limited capacity for opening day this summer, which is traditionally our biggest day,” Rubinstein said. “We will continue to sell every box, every table, every seat. But we want to ensure [that] our core customers, the people that are with us week in and week out, have a quality experience. So we are capping opening day.”

Cal Expo back in action

The Thoroughbred meet at Cal Expo (aka Sacramento), which got cancelled the past two years along with the annual summer state fair there, will be back in action July 15-31, with racing on a Friday-through-Sunday basis.

In 2020 and '21, the fairgrounds property got turned into a COVID-19 testing and vaccination facility. Although night harness racing eventually restarted, with the most recent meet concluding in May, the Thoroughbred meets got moved to Pleasanton.

Larry Swartzlander, the executive director of the California Authority of Racing Fairs and the director of racing at Cal Expo, said the track is in “excellent shape,” with 300 horses already stabled on the grounds.

“It's been two years to finally get back to racing over there,” Swartzlander said. “The [California] Governor's Cup will be back–a $75,000 guaranteed race. The overnight purses are being raised approximately $200,000. We don't call it Ship & Win like Del Mar, but we've always had an out-of-state incentive to owners and trainers.”

The state fair operators used the downtime from not hosting a summer fair or Thoroughbred racing over the past two years to make some $18 million in improvements.

Although many of the infrastructural upgrades will not be noticeable (like miles of new underground gas lines, the drilling of a new well, new roofing on buildings), they are the types of long-term facility investments that will enable Cal Expo to conduct future race meets.
Horse people are, however, likely to notice a new restaurant that got built near the stabling area.

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BHA Raises Jockeys’ Minimum Weights; Removes Covid Allowance

Jockeys riding in Britain will receive a general weight increase of two pounds for most races. The change is permanent and replaces the three-pound Covid allowance that was instituted at the start of the pandemic when weighing-room saunas were closed; therefore, the minimum weight will be one-pound less than what it has been throughout the pandemic. Saunas have since been permanently closed.

The minimum weight for flat races has been raised to 8st 2lbs, while the new minimum jump weight is 10st 2lbs. These changes come into effect for flat racing on Mar. 26, and on Apr. 29 for jumps racing. Maximum weights will also increase in line with these changes: the top weight for flat riders will be 10st 2lbs, and 12st for jumps.

Horse Racing Ireland announced in December that Irish jockeys' minimum weights would also be increased, by three pounds for flat riders (8st 7lbs) and by four pounds (10st 7 lbs) for jump jockeys.

Dr. Jerry Hill, chief medical advisor of the BHA, said, “The closure of saunas on our racecourses represents a significant step forward for jockey wellbeing and a permanent raising of the minimum weight, while protecting competitiveness by raising the maximum weight, is the correct response to that development. I am grateful for the input received from the industry's participants, and in particular the clear message sent by jockeys regarding their support to see the use of saunas on racedays come to an end. Our jockeys are athletes who should be primed to perform to the best of their ability like any other. Shedding pounds by dehydrating in a sauna minutes before being given the leg-up onto a horse is not the best way to ensure that is the case.”

Jockey Richard Kingscote spoke about the changes on At The Races on Tuesday, and he said, “I don't want to speak for all jockeys, but collectively everyone's not very happy. We were given a questionnaire vote, which everyone responded too and said we're happy to remove the saunas if keep our allowance. The saunas have already been ripped out, and we're not keeping our allowance. The two pounds might help on a maiden, but it's not going to help in handicaps. For many of us we're back to square one, so I think people feel as if they're giving with one hand and taking away with the other. It's a bit frustrating that we were kept in the dark. No one in there heard anything about it until today, so I think everyone's a little bit miffed.”

Dale Gibson, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Jockeys Association, said, “The PJA has been working with the BHA and NTF to agree the revised weight structure, which has required compromise from all parties. Some jockeys are concerned that their body weight has naturally increased during the lengthy COVID period where the 3lb allowances was utilised, however we will continue to monitor the forthcoming weight structure closely, including specific race conditions alongside stakeholders and the Racing Department team.

“We welcome the reintroduction of the winter weight allowance for flat jockeys, which was successfully introduced in 2013. The PJA continues to provide weight management support to all professional jockeys, which remains readily accessible via the nutrition team, in conjunction with exercise programs available at the IJF centres.”

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HRI Increases Jockey Weights

Horse Racing Ireland will increase the minimum and maximum weights allowed for jockeys under both codes.

From Feb. 1, the minimum weight will be increased three pounds to 8st 7lb for flat races, four pounds to 10st for National Hunt races and three pounds to 10st 7lb for Qualified Rider races. The changes were decided based upon recommendations from a cross-industry Jockeys Supports Working Group set up by the HRI Programmes Committee.

Dr. Jennifer Pugh, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's Senior Medical Officer, said, “I very much welcome these changes to the weight structures which are crucial as we continue to improve the physical and mental health of our jockeys. I look forward to close collaboration with HRI through its equuip division and our other supportive industry partners as we continue to improve our educational and wellbeing supports, to ensure healthy weight making practices become the norm. I wish to thank HRI and the Jockeys Supports Working Group for their time and support in recent months in achieving these changes.”

Jason Morris, HRI director of racing, said, “HRI has taken a number of recent measures which will be of assistance to the health and welfare of jockeys, including the permanent retention of 48-hour declarations, which allows jockeys longer preparation for weights, and the introduction of breaks in the season under both codes. The HRI Programmes Committee accepted the advice received from the Jockeys Supports Working Group to retain the 2lb increase introduced in June 2020 on a permanent basis and to go further in raising the minimum weights under both codes, noting that these measures were supported by the Irish Jockeys Association.”

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How It Works: A Look At How Jockeys Weigh Out

The subject of jockey weights has been a central part of the news in racing this week as reports circulated that Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey Alexander Crispin has been fined and suspended for carrying a lower weight than advertised in a race on Jan. 16.

Most people probably know that jockeys are weighed both before and after a race to ensure they are carrying the weight printed in the program or on the changes list, but unless you've spent time in the jocks' room, you may not know the finer points of how the process works.

First of all, it's important to understand the terminology. “Weighing out” refers to the process of recording a rider's weight before a race, when he or she is on their way out of the jockeys' room. “Weighing in” refers to recording their weight after the race, when they're on their way back inside.

The procedures in the jockeys' rooms vary somewhat between tracks and states, depending on the state rules and preferences of the racing officials at work in a given place.

Javier Torres, clerk of scales at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Kentucky Downs, said that riders at those tracks are required to check in at least 30 minutes before the first race where they are named to ride. They will consult a board where Torres has written the weights each rider must carry through the day. By the time they sign in, Torres said, jockeys already have a pretty good idea of what their weight will be that day. At sign-in, they're required to write down what their weight will be for the day and Torres uses that to calculate overweights, if necessary.

“Most of the jockeys, they know what they weigh, they know their bodies,” said Torres. “Most of them know, and I know, what they can do, what their lightest weight is they can do.”

If you sit in the grandstand throughout a race card, you may hear new overweights announced late into the card. Torres said that at the tracks where he works, that's probably because a rider didn't have a mount for the first few races and just signed in, not necessarily because they were struggling all afternoon to reduce weight or have ballooned after an earlier race.

Of course, there will be some races where a rider has to carry more weight than others. There are a few different ways the clerk can add weight to a rider. In Kentucky, Torres uses rubber pads which sit between the saddle towel and the saddle and are designed to weigh between one and ten pounds. Some riders don't care for those pads because they feel the slick outer coating makes the saddle slip, so in some cases Torres will still allow use of lead weights, which are tucked into pockets under the saddle flap.

“Most jocks have three different saddles, depending on the weight they need,” said Torres. “The more weight, they go with the heavier saddle. Sometimes their heaviest saddle isn't big enough. John McKee, he might not even weigh 100 pounds. He has Pat Day's old saddle, and that saddle has the lead built into the actual saddle. I think it weighs 12 or 13 pounds.”

In New York, lead weights are still the preferred system to add weight to a rider unless a trainer supplies a weighted pad, which must be approved by the stewards and the clerk of scales.

Kentucky, California, and New York do not count safety equipment like vests or helmets against a rider's weight allowance. In New York, clerks can count some of the horse's equipment like martingale, breastplate, or other equipment toward a rider's weight allowance.

Scales and recordkeeping vary also. In Kentucky, riders are weighed with a digital scale 15 minutes before each race and the scale's readings feed into a computer system that keeps a running record of those weights. The same happens at NYRA facilities, but at Finger Lakes, weights are manually recorded by the clerk. In Kentucky, Torres and his assistants then place the rider's equipment on a table which is highly visible in the jockeys' room, and cover it with a saddle towel to indicate it has already been measured for the day. The scale and computer readings are verified by the stewards periodically.

In Kentucky, valets do not always saddle horses for the same rider ahead of each race. Torres randomly assigns numbers to valets each day and matches them to horses by post position order, which reduces the opportunity for a valet to collude with a rider ahead of time to change equipment or remove weights. In New York, clerks randomly assign valets to different riders each day.

After the race, riders weigh back in. Traditionally, Kentucky used to weigh only the top four finishers, but now weighs the top five due to certain types of exotic wagers that include the fifth-place entry. Kentucky also allows a rider to come back weighing up to six pounds heavier – three for equipment changes, and three for the accumulation of mud or water on the rider or their tack.

New York has detailed rules on the books prohibiting riders from touching any person or thing with their equipment after dismounting and prior to weigh in. Riders are also penalized in New York and in California for being more than one pound short of their weigh out weight, or for being more than two pounds over their weigh out reading.

The topic of rider weights has long been a heated one, with many riders advocating for a higher minimum through the years. Torres said he believes fewer riders are going to unhealthy extremes to reduce weight than they did when he started as a clerk of scales some 15 years ago. He can remember one rider routinely sweating off seven pounds in the sauna each day; the steam rooms have been closed since COVID-19 began, and he believes fewer riders are “flipping” (or inducing vomiting) than they once did.

“It's hard to go in there and pull weight,” said Torres. “I tell them, don't kill yourself. I'd rather be stronger than be lightheaded trying to pull weight. To me, over the years, the number of riders having to reduce really hard to make weight is less and less. I know a lot of guys who realize now it's going to affect them in the long run when they retire.”

This piece is part of an occasional series exploring the way different regulations and procedures in racing work. Want to know how something in racing works? Email us using the Ask Ray button in the red bar at the top of this page.

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