Jockeys In The 1930's

Imagine eating little to no food everyday, eliminating as much body fluid as possible to keep your weight unnaturally low, all while having the possibility of dying participating in the sport that you love. Well this was the life of a jockey in the 1920s and 30’s. Their life was nothing short of appealing. The rigorous lifestyle of a jockey was all to make it big and ride the “big horse”. There were many daily sacrifices and dangers that came along with being a jockey.
Starvation and weight loss was every jockeys worst enemy in the 1930’s. Generally a jockey would have to weigh between 83 to 130 pounds, depending of the rank of the horse that he was assigned to ride (CITATION). To ensure that they would maintain this unhealthy weight, jockeys

They had to be able to suppress the fear of being thrown off their horse and suffering a severe injury or even being killed. Many jockeys didn't even have to leave the saddle to receive a torn ligaments or shattered bones just riding the horse was tough enough on their bodies (CITATION). Some jockeys were not so lucky, and got thrown off their horse, then trampled to death by the following race horses. Deaths were not uncommon on the track and it was almost expected to be a part of the races. Between the years 1935 and 1939 nineteen deaths occurred (CITATION). If not death, serious injuries were an absolute in every jockeys life. Some even experienced more than two hundred falls in their life (CITATION). Due to little rules and regulations, once a jockey was injured during a race, little was done to tend to the racers injuries. Along with the lack of immediate attention, very few jockeys had insurance and earned an insignificant amount of money. The lack of money and insurance often lead to many hospitals turning the injured jockey away, refusing to treat them (CITATION). Luckily today safety measures such as filming, improved riding equipment, safety rails and ambulances on guard are taken to ensure safe riding.
As one can see, jockeys had it rough. These hardships range from excessive amounts of weight loss to risking their lives to participate in a mile and a half race. The jockeys were often risking