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The Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) has called on the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and racecourses to reconsider their position on saunas.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PJA said the permanent closure of the on-course facilities “has created physical and mental wellbeing issues for jockeys that far outweigh any perceived risk of dehydration by sauna use”.
Minimum riding weights for both Flat and Jump jockeys were raised 2lb by the BHA last year after the decision was taken at the end of 2021 to remove saunas completely from racecourses.
A 3lb allowance was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to compensate for the lack of saunas, but the PJA now says it should “have insisted on cast-iron guarantees from the BHA and others that the Covid weight allowance would remain in force before accepting the removal of saunas”.
The statement goes on to say: “The PJA is in no doubt, having consulted with senior psychologists, that the most urgent medical issue threatening the health of jockeys is that of the anxiety and stress associated with the need to make weight.
“Jockeys are using a range of inappropriate and more risky methods including very hot baths, use of sweat suits while driving, restricting fluid intake for long periods of time, or even flipping.”
The PJA is calling for new research into saunas to “investigate the regulated use of on-course saunas in the jockeys’ workplace, understand the physical and psychological impact, and consider the jockeys’ loss of agency that has been triggered by the loss of saunas”.
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