Eating disorders and saunas. Blackouts and burnouts. As the glitzy Auckland Cup Week begins, some of the country's top jockeys tell Jehan Casinader about their private hell.
A day at the races provides the perfect excuse for an end-of-summer binge.
Next week's Auckland Cup Day is no exception. Those who have forked out for a premium pass will enjoy a sumptuous buffet lunch, including choice cuts of Atlantic salmon, Alaskan snow crab, Pacific oysters, Tiger prawns and grain-fed Angus cattle.
The event, sponsored by a beer company, is likely to be well-lubricated, too.
But away from the marquees and catering stalls, it's a very different story. Many jockeys are living on one meal a day; sometimes less. Some try to lose multiple kilos in a single day.
Their strategies are legal. Jockeys dehydrate themselves by cutting water intake and sitting in saunas and spas for hours on end. Others admit to starving themselves and making themselves vomit.
Many sports, such as boxing, enforce weight limits. But it seems horse racing is one of the only sports that puts such demanding weight limits on its athletes.
Most jockeys must keep their weight between 50 and 55kg, often less.
It's not rocket science: the lighter the rider is, the faster the horse will go. Those who exceed those limits may be fined. To stay lean and mean, many jockeys are taking a gamble on their health.
Michael Coleman weighs 53kg, and has been in the saddle for 24 years. Coleman comes from a family that has been involved in training and breeding horses, and his father ran a stud farm. He took the reins when he was 16, and says he knew what he was up for: a lifetime standing on the scales.
Over the years, Coleman has witnessed the immense strain on some of his riding mates.
"If you have a look around the jocks' room, you can see who has been doing it tough. They're normally a bit sucked up and gaunt, a bit red in the face, because they have been in the sauna, sweating it out. You definitely see it when they come back after a race. The guys who have had to lose two or three kilos are really sucking for air."
Coleman has seen jockeys "put their fingers down their throats in desperation" in an effort to shave off the last half-kilo before a race. But he doesn't believe eating disorders are a problem.
The research tells a different story. A 2002 survey found one in five Kiwi jockeys had experienced an eating disorder. Despite that conclusion, there has been no further research about why Kiwi jockeys' health is suffering.
"A couple of times, I have come in after a race and nearly had blackouts or something like that," says Coleman.
"You try to have a meal. It depends on what's coming up in the next few days. At the moment, we've been racing three or four days in a row. You have the luxury of going out for a nice meal at the end of it.
"But often your stomach has shrunk, you're dehydrated, and don't feel like eating. You just want fluids."
Coleman's winner's luck has prevented him from suffering major injuries, but now the Matamata rider is worried about the long-term damage to his health.
Some jockeys face ailments such as osteoporosis, not only because riding is physically demanding, but because years of poor eating have caused their bodies to lose nutrients.
Coleman knows "a lot of jocks" who have had hip replacements and other similar operations.
JOCKEYS' ASSOCIATION secretary Dave Taylor says the riders should toughen up. If a rider can't look after his weight, Taylor suggests he should "go and become a truck driver".
He accepts that jockeys face health consequences, but says that's just part of the job. But is it fair to expect jockeys to comply with such demanding restrictions?
"There's international concern about the level of weight that jockeys are being asked to ride at," says NZ Racing's Dr Phil White, "because human weight is increasing around the world. For the jockeys, it becomes more and more difficult, with time.
"The minimum weights have gone up by a little bit in the past decade, but not by much."
Shelley Houston, a 27-year-old jumps jockey, says men can sometimes struggle more than women in meeting the weight thresholds, because men have more heavy muscle. But there are challenges for women, too: those who are taking the Pill or have large busts can find it hard to cut the kilos.
It's also tough to be tall: Houston is 167cm. She says some jockeys' efforts to lose weight cause them to waste muscle, not just fat.
"People drink Epsom salts to get fluids out of their system," says Houston. "They make themselves go to the toilet. The cravings for food can be bad, but if they have bulimia they can't resist the cravings so they eat and then spew.
"I know young guys who have got into that situation. It's a hard game to play. I used to ride all day and then go to the gym, having only eaten a tuna sandwich and a small can of tuna."
Houston has not had an eating disorder. She has worked hard to manage her weight, and says each jockey must take personal responsibility. She thinks it's positive that diuretics have been banned.
She says the reason many jockeys are willing to go to such extreme lengths to lose weight is because there's money and fame involved.
But Houston doesn't want the weights to be eased because she "would just get fatter".
WE IMAGINE that New Zealand's top sportspeople begin each day with a large bowl of Weet-Bix and a stack of Vegemite-smothered toast. The reality for jockeys is quite the opposite.
Before a big event, they can't eat, sometimes for two or three days, depending on how much weight they have to lose. They also starve themselves of water, which leaves them dehydrated before a big day of racing has even begun.
Although there have been the high-profile methamphetamine cases of cup-winning jockeys Lisa Cropp and Leanne Isherwood, most jockeys don't take drugs. They do, however, have secret weapons in their arsenal: saunas, spas and hot baths.
Former rider Matthew Williamson says that, in a determined effort to lose multiple kilos, he "lived in the bath" the day before a race. It can be painful, boring and exhausting.
Williamson says there's no point "turning up at the races when you're a walking mess", but jockeys soon get used to it because it's part of their lifestyle.
"Some go for a run in a wetsuit or heavy clothing to sweat out their fluids," says Phil White.
"But the more dehydrated a jockey is, the more dangerous they become. Their decision-making gets blurred. They're a danger to themselves and others. Dehydration is not an acceptable way of trying to lose weight, beyond 2 per cent of your weight."
Williamson retired from racing in 2006, after a 17-year career. He was once a "tiny kid" but began struggling in his late 20s. At 35, he quit jockeying because he couldn't keep the weight off. Now 37, he's a stipendiary steward for NZ Racing. But although he's no longer a jockey, he can't escape the consequences of his riding days.
"I haven't ridden for almost four years, but I still eat only one meal each day," says Williamson.
"It probably isn't very healthy but I've become so accustomed to it and I just can't break the habit. My meal is always in the evening, and I don't get hungry during the day. To me, food is a necessary evil rather than something I can enjoy."
Like Williamson and Coleman, many top jockeys begin their careers when they're very young. In their teens, the riders' bodies are still growing but some are already facing weight problems.
They can't easily go out with their mates because a couple of beers may push their weight over. Williamson, who blames temptation and peer pressure, says a single burger can add 1kg to a jockey whose weight is already low.
"The guys who really have problems are a long way below what their bodyweight should be. That's not to say they aren't healthy. Jockeys have healthy lifestyles. But the ones who are not so disciplined try to lose weight by 'wasting'. They're light, then they're heavy. They're light, then they're heavy. And of course that takes its toll."
The Jockeys' Association wants NZ Racing to ease the weight limits. The maximum weight would be raised by 1kg at most. It sounds like a small amount, but for a 53kg jockey, 1kg is significant.
However, NZ Racing has no plans to change the weights. It will review the limits in July at the end of the racing season. CEO Malcolm Holmes says the issue of jockeys having health complications "is not widespread".
Jockeys are monitored by their GPs and stewards. White says jockeys' clubs are making an effort to provide better food. The jockeys are receiving more nutritional coaching. Many are naturally slim, so keeping their weight low is not as much of a challenge as it would be for an average person.
But Williamson says there can be emotional consequences for jockeys who can't keep the weight off. Some become disheartened, "and that can be the beginning of the end" for a jockey, whose career may end abruptly.
Some, like Coleman, take extended breaks of two months or more to allow their bodies to recover. But the best strategy, they reckon, is to keep a constant weight.
"Jockeys are among the healthiest people in the country," says Williamson. "We may dehydrate ourselves a bit, and not eat sometimes, but we are fitter than 98 per cent of the people walking down the street.
"But the reality is, it's damn hard work, and it takes its toll. But it's a funny little world, isn't it? Most people have no idea what we go through."
