Risk Factors for Jockey Falls in Japanese Thoroughbred Flat Racing.

The research involved studying factors which increase the likelihood of a jockey falling during flat races in Japan. It found six significant factors, including a horse’s catastrophic musculoskeletal injury, the type of track surface, the experience level of jockeys, the size of the track, the number of competitors in a race, and the distance of a race.

Objective of the Study

• The primary aim of this study was to enhance jockey safety by identifying key risk factors associated with jockey falls (JF) in flat races regulated by the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

Methodology

• The authors conducted a case-control study looking retrospectively at race data from 2003 to 2017, which involved 715,210 race starts by 74,328 horses at 10 different racecourses.
• They mined this information from databases held by the JRA and official accident reports provided by race stewards.
• A total of 17 potential risk factors were closely scrutinized, using multivariable logistic regression to isolate the factors that significantly influenced the number of jockey falls.

Findings

• The researchers documented 992 jockey falls, which translated to an incidence rate of 1.39 falls per 1,000 starts.
• Six risk factors were significantly linked to JF.
• The risk was greatest when horses had sustained a catastrophic musculoskeletal injury (CMI), with these instances making the odds of a fall 203 times higher.
• Other identified risk factors included the race being on a dirt surface, the jockey being an apprentice, smaller track sizes, larger numbers of horses in a race, and longer race distances.

Recommendations

• The study posited that reducing the instances of CMI suffered by horses is critical to improving jockey safety.
• It also signified the importance of jockey education and experience, as falls were more frequent with apprentice jockeys.
• The authors recommended appropriate medical staffing should be a priority during races hosted on dirt tracks, on smaller tracks, in larger fields, or over longer distances, considering these factors correspond with increased odds for jockey falls.