Sports Monthly Response

Clifton Response to The Observer edition of Sports Monthly:

Dear sir,

I felt I had to comment on the article that appeared in this The Observer edition of Sports Monthly.  As an addiction’s therapist based near Newmarket I have seen a lot of jockeys who suffer from eating disorders and various other addictions.  The problem became so serious in Newmarket that after a spate of suicide’s  amongst young trainee jockey’s the racing community set up ‘Racing Welfare’ in order to begin to address their problems.  I have seen a number of their clients  all of which were suffering from serious eating disorders and various addictions.

We hear so much about eating disorders amongst young female models that I feel eating disorders amongst male jockeys is almost ‘forgotten’.  The practice of bulimia and anorexia is widespread along with the dubious rationalization that starvation and bulimia are necessary to participate in the sport and therefore don’t believe they have an illness.

Most jockeys who struggle with their weight are also addicted to diet pills and amphetamines (which numb your appetite).  There is also a massive binge drinking culture amongst the racing community and I’ve met numerous jockeys who also exist on a ‘liquid diet’ sacrificing food calories for alcohol calories.

Methods to reduce ones weight are shared amongst jockeys and very quickly these behaviors are normalized and validated through the results they get.   Thus eating disorders are as much a part of the racing community as is rigging the betting, neither of which serve the sport.

Racing attracts a lot of young people who work extremely long hours for low pay in the hope they may get a chance to ride competitively, because the pressure on them is so high and as quoted in the article ‘They say that a pound is worth a length’, jockey’s will go to extreme lengths to secure a win, like modeling there are very few people who make it to the top of the profession and reap the financial rewards and acclaim, many are left disappointed, broke, malnourished, depressed and reliant on drugs and alcohol to cope with the feelings of failure.

Instead of glorifying this sport with its hidden demons I feel a investigation of its practices and the culture that underpins it would serve the forgotten victims who sacrifice their physical health and often mental health just to reach an unachievable goal.  I would call for a weight minimum according to height and Body Mass index that would present an even playing field for all competitors and would go some way to addressing this hidden problem.

Whilst these practices remain and the racing industry colludes with them then I do not feel that horse racing can continue to call itself a professional sport.

Yours sincerely

Veronica Callanan
Clinical Director
The Clifton Clinic
1 Smith Court
Clifton Rd
Shefford
Bedfordshire
SG17 5AE

www.thecliftonclinic.co.uk