Australia’s jockey boss Craig Staples has admitted he feels like he has let down the growing group of WA’s star female riders – including his wife Lisa – when he sees the outdated facilities they are crammed into at racing venues around the State.
But an election commitment from the Cook Government to establish a $25 million Royalties For Regions Racing Fund has given him hope that racing’s women will soon see the back of the sort of treatment no other professional female athletes in Australia would cop.
“It’s crazy to think about what the girls put up with,” Craig Staples, who is the executive chairman of the Australian Jockeys Association, said.
“To stick 15 or 16 girls in a tiny box with one toilet and two showers, they are very resilient. But I feel like I’ve failed them and people don’t realise, it’s not just a changeroom, it’s a workplace.
“They are professional athletes and when we have visiting rides come over, I’m embarrassed. But this (the funding) will make the sport so much more professional.”
Staples said the infrastructure package would address the issues, providing funding across the State to upgrade changerooms and facilities for female jockeys and drivers. He said it was a “crucial opportunity” to modernise racecourse infrastructure, ensuring WA racing keeps pace with industry growth and the increasing female participation.
The growth of women in racing has made this an urgent issue.
Many WA racecourses were built at a time when female participation in racing was much lower. As a result, changerooms and other facilities for female jockeys and drivers are outdated, inadequate, or in some cases, non-existent.
At some tracks, female participants are forced to share small or makeshift spaces, limiting privacy and creating uncomfortable conditions on race days.
Almost half (22) of WA’s 48 jockeys are female and 116 of the States 396 licensed thoroughbred trainers (29.29%) are women. There are also 86 licensed women harness racing participants and 12 of the 13 most recent apprentice jockeys to join the Apprentice Jockey Training Program are female.
“Women are increasingly making their mark in WA racing, and the numbers reflect this,” Staples said.
Lisa said racing was one of the most inclusive sports in WA and one of the very few where men and women could compete on an equal playing field for the same prizemoney. She said women made up a significant portion of racing participants, including jockeys, drivers, trainers and apprentices, yet many WA racecourses lacked facilities adequate enough to support them.
