PJA welcomes new rest-period initiatives in fixture list

PA Sport Staff
August 7, 2024 2:38 pm

‘Key improvements’ will be implemented to give riders a much-needed break.

The Professional Jockeys Association has welcomed the greater focus on breaks for jockeys throughout the year after the 2025 fixture list was released.

Amongst the programme is a more immediate post-season rest period for Flat jockeys, with the end-of-November break moved forward to kick in after the November Handicap at Doncaster earlier in the month.

That then creates an eight-day gap with no Flat racing, after which there will be three further days with rider restricted meetings to expand the break to 11 days for those who are not eligible to take part in such events.

The criteria for rider restricted races is that the jockeys involved must not have ridden more than 30 winners in British races during the previous year, and there will also be a five-day stretch of meetings for such riders in February to give more experienced jockeys a break and create opportunities for up-and-coming pilots.

Retaining the extended National Hunt break which came in this year is regarded as another plus, along with a slight reduction in evening fixtures, although the PJA believes that there should be further reductions in future years.

Dale Gibson, racing director for the PJA, said: “The shape of the fixture list dictates the working lives of all participants, impacting their partners and families.

“The relentless schedule, featuring multiple and repetitive evening fixtures followed by early morning work riding, takes its toll.

“We welcome the key improvements, including the extended National Hunt summer break, the moving of the Flat jockeys break and use of rider restricted races to extend that break and add a shorter break during February half-term, alongside other programming elements that must continue to evolve.”

However, Gibson issued a warning with regards to the long-term health of the industry, as the overall number of meetings was reduced only marginally.

He added: “That being said, continuing to produce a fixture list where little changes from one year to the next is unsustainable and hardly likely to reverse the sport’s fortunes.”