Injuries in amateur horse racing (point to point racing) in Great Britain and Ireland during 1993-2006

Br J Sports Med. 2007 Mar;41(3):162-6. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2006.033894. Epub 2006 Nov 30.

Abstract

Objectives: To provide a breakdown of injury incidence from amateur jump racing (also known as point to point racing) in Great Britain and Ireland during 1993-2006 and to compare the injury epidemiology with professional horse racing in Great Britain, Ireland and France.

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Great Britain and Ireland.

Participants: Amateur jockeys.

Main outcome measures: Injury rates.

Results: Injury data suggest that point to point racing is more dangerous from an injury point of view than professional jump racing, which has previously been shown to be more dangerous than flat racing. Amateur jockeys have more falls than their professional counterparts, and this in turn puts them at greater risk of sustaining more serious injuries.

Conclusions: Amateur (point to point) jockeys represent a sporting population that previously has been little studied. They represent a group at high risk of injury, and hence formal injury surveillance tracking and counter measures for injury prevention are recommended.

MeSH terms

  • Accidental Falls / statistics & numerical data
  • Accidents, Occupational / statistics & numerical data
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Athletic Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Athletic Injuries / etiology
  • Female
  • Horses*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Ireland / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology