How to Train to Become a Flat Racing Jockey

Flat racing is defined as any kind of racing performed on a level track. It differs from racing over jumps or hurdles (generally referred to as steeplechase racing). Different methods are used in the training for each. Luckily, if you want to train to become a flat racing jockey, it is far more common than steeplechase racing.

Instructions

    • 1

      Watch your weight. Jockeys must remain light and keep their weight down at all times. The maximum weight for a jockey is typically around 115 pounds. If you cannot stay under that and remain healthy, you shouldn't train to become a jockey.

    • 2

      Find a training facility for flat racing horses. Though a few formal training schools exist, most jockeys begin simply by immersing themselves in the life of racing, which starts at a track or training grounds. The Jockey Club can provide guidance and information (see Resources below).

    • 3

      Petition a trainer or owner to recommend you for a "backside job" on a racetrack. With a job around the horses, you can begin working towards becoming a jockey. Most jockeys start by taking on other jobs: "walking hots" (walking the horses slowly and rubbing them to cool them down after a race), exercising them and grooming them.

    • 4

      Prepare to spend every waking moment around horses. A jockey lives his career: it's far more than just a job. Be ready to start every day at dawn and ride, groom and train with the horses until well after dark. Total immersion is the best way to prepare for the life of a flat racing jockey.

    • 5

      Work on your riding technique and stamina as you train. Flat racing requires an ability to crouch low over the horse, to read the conditions of the race track and to know when to spur the horse and when to leave him be. Much of that comes instinctively after spending hour after hour putting the horses through their paces.

    • 6

      Sign up for schooling races. They help prepare jockeys for different aspects of flat racing, particularly how to emerge from the gate and how to ride safely around the track with other horses and jockeys.

    • 7

      Secure your license. You typically need an official license to compete in flat racing, which you can gain at any sanctioned racetrack.