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Is this Australia’s most dangerous profession?

We all give a piece of ourselves to our work every day, but some of us give more than others.

Construction workers, truck drivers and foresters are respected for risking serious injury, or worse, in their daily jobs.

Any occupation involving driving can also be considered dangerous.

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But did you know that since records of Australian horse racing began, 872 Aussies have died in riding accidents, including five Melbourne Cup champion jockeys? That’s an alarming figure.

In 2009, a Medical Journal of Australia article found jockeying to be the most dangerous job on land, second only overall to offshore fishing.

Horse racing is also statistically our most dangerous sport, eclipsing even motor racing for number of injuries per 1000 hours of riding.

The severity of horse-related injuries is extremely high and intracranial injuries are reported as most frequent for riders.

Recently, four female jockeys lost their lives in riding accidents in a 14-month period, renewing the debate over riders’ safety.

The combination of speed, minimal protection, tight racing and hard ground creates a perfect storm of danger for our gutsy riders.

It is for these reasons insurance companies generally won’t insure anything to do with horse racing.

Bungee jumping is even perceived as being safer.lucrf2

It’s a problem that’s difficult to fix, particularly as horse racing brings so much joy to both riders and the public.

For these reasons, the National Jockeys Trust (NJT) was established in 2004 to support those suffering through personal and financial hardship after falls.

The NJT has helped more than 200 jockeys and their families, with assistance from partners like industry super fund LUCRF Super.

Champion jockey Damien Oliver knows how important the NJT is in supporting injured jockeys and the families of the deceased.

In 2002, Oliver dismounted from Media Puzzle after winning his second Melbourne Cup, and declared to an interviewer: “Mate, Melbourne Cups don’t mean a thing to me anymore.”

The emotional crowd wasn’t surprised – the death of Oliver’s jockey brother Jason during a race trial the week before was well publicised, as was the death of their father, Ray.

A prominent jockey himself, Ray was killed after falling during a race in 1975.

“Fortunately I’ve been successful in racing and racing’s been good to me,” Oliver recently told LUCRF Super.

“I did have a bad accident where I broke my back in 2004.

“But there are so many out there who have career-ending or life-ending injuries where they can no longer work, or the parents or the families of the fallen jockeys have no more source of income, so it’s obviously very important that those people are taken care of.”

Horse racing is a thrilling and very watchable sport, thanks mostly to the courage and determination of both the jockeys and horses.

But the dangers of the job remain difficult to tackle, particularly as animals can be unpredictable.

That’s why the National Jockey Trust and its supporters like LUCRF Super are so crucial to the sport.


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This content was sponsored by LUCRF Super, proud supporters of the National Jockeys Trust. For more information, go to lucrf.com.au. 

L.U.C.R.F Pty Ltd ABN 18 005 502 090 AFSL 258481 as Trustee for Labour Union Co-Operative Retirement Fund (LUCRF Super) ABN 26 382 680 883.

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