Mental Health & Staff: The Weight of It All, Jockey Mental Health Challenges and the Support Available

Over 85% of jockeys have experienced stress, anxiety or depression in the past twelve months. This figure, drawn from industry research conducted by Racing Welfare in partnership with John Moores University, is not a peripheral statistic about a niche population. It describes the mental health reality of the people who ride horses in competition, sit at the centre of racing’s public spectacle and face a combination of occupational stressors that few other professions share.

The Specific Pressures Jockeys Face

Jockeys occupy an unusual position in sport. They are self-employed athletes in a discipline with no off-season; British racing runs on approximately 362 days per year. They travel tens of thousands of miles annually, often alone, to racecourses across the country. They manage their own bookings, their own tax affairs, their own fitness programmes. They ride injured with a frequency that would be considered extraordinary in any other professional sport. And they do all of this while managing the most distinctive occupational challenge in elite sport: weight.

Weight management, or “doing the weight” in racing parlance, requires many jockeys to restrict food and fluid intake to a degree that creates chronic physiological stress. Historically this included extreme practices such as “wasting” (deliberate dehydration through saunas and diuretics) that are now formally discouraged but remain part of the culture’s memory. As the Racing Welfare research identified, “maintaining weight/body image: trying to keep fit and physically and mentally strong while trying to maintain my weight is tough for jockeys. Lack of food, excessive sauna use, dehydration all takes their toll on mental health.”

The BHA’s Chief Medical Adviser, Dr Jerry Hill, acknowledged this directly in the context of the Mental Health Charter: “There are issues associated with horseracing which can put unique strains on our participants, for example the requirement for jockeys and work riders to monitor and control their weight at all times. This can have an emotional and mental impact, and for this reason it is imperative that we provide the right support to our workforce.”

The Additional Stressors

Weight is the most visible jockey stressor but not the only one. The Racing Welfare research identified several additional common mental health pressure points:

Finding rides: Jockeys are self-employed and rely on individual trainers and owners to book them for horses. Careers can stall through a single bad run of form, through a serious injury that creates a period of absence, or simply through the natural volatility of a competitive market. The anxiety of finding sufficient rides, particularly for jockeys outside the elite tier with established yards, is a persistent background pressure.

Fear of injury: Jockeys fall. In a National Hunt career, falls are not exceptional events but a routine occupational hazard. An ambulance follows every race as a permanent reminder of the physical risk. Living with the constant knowledge that a single race could end a career (or a life) creates a specific form of chronic stress that accumulates across years of riding.

The sport’s emotional extremes: The highs of a Festival winner and the lows of a run of defeats create psychological volatility that Sir Anthony McCoy, the 20-time champion jockey, described candidly in PJA materials: “When you experience the highs, you’re obviously going to experience the lows. It’s coping with the lows that obviously is the most difficult part. I sat in a dark room at times.”

Post-career transition: Jockeys who retire, whether through injury, age or choice, often experience significant identity challenges. A career built on daily physical challenge, social structure and public identity does not translate naturally to civilian life, and the industry’s provision for supporting jockeys through this transition has historically been inadequate.

What Support Is Available

The professional jockey wellbeing infrastructure in British racing has developed substantially over the past decade:

PJA Mental Wellbeing Helpline: The Professional Jockeys Association operates a dedicated 24-hour helpline providing jockeys with immediate access to qualified professional support. PJA documentation confirms that over 160 jockeys have been supported through the programme in recent years.

JETS (Jockeys Education and Training Scheme): Provides counselling, substance abuse support and career development resources for current and transitioning jockeys.

Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF): Beyond its physical rehabilitation function, the IJF provides emotional wellbeing support including access to six free face-to-face therapy sessions for PJA members. The IJF’s three rehabilitation centres have full-time jockey coaches providing wellbeing support.

Racing’s Support Line: Racing Welfare’s 24-hour helpline (0800 6300 443) is available to anyone employed or previously employed in the racing or breeding industry. It offers telephone counselling, online cognitive behavioural therapy and facilitated access to in-person counselling.

Sporting Chance: For jockeys with drug or alcohol concerns, access to Sporting Chance’s confidential service is facilitated through the BHA (077 8000 8877).

The Stigma Challenge

The single greatest barrier to jockeys accessing available support is stigma. Racing is a sport with an explicit culture of physical and mental toughness. Admitting to depression or anxiety in an environment where riders “get back on” after falls, where riding injured is normalised, requires overcoming a cultural expectation of stoicism that is deeply embedded.

McCoy’s willingness to speak publicly about “sitting in a dark room” represents one of the most significant contributions to changing that culture. His frankness gives other jockeys permission to acknowledge their own difficulties, and the PJA has built on his example through peer support programmes and visible advocacy.

The fact that more than 160 jockeys have accessed PJA support in recent years, a number that almost certainly understates the true reach of the programme, suggests that stigma, while still present, is declining.