Injuries among Maryland jockeys during thoroughbred racing: 2015–2019

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to characterise jockey injuries at Maryland racetracks during thoroughbred racing activities over 4 years using medical records maintained by the sports medicine team. METHODS: Injury data were prospectively gathered by sports medicine physicians who were onsite for all thoroughbred racing activities in Maryland from 12 September 2015 to 5 May 2019 to evaluate and treat any injury to the jockeys. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, rates with corresponding 95% CIs and proportions) of injury types, body parts, mechanisms, severity and location on track were calculated. RESULTS: Over nearly 4 years of racing and 45 000 mounts, there were 204 injuries involving 184 incidents and 131 falls during those races. The vast majority of injuries (80%) was related to soft tissue, while 4% were concussions. Most injuries involved the lower extremity (31%) or upper extremity (26%) and typically resulted from a fall from the horse. Among all incidents, 79.3% (n=146) resulted in an injury, while 76.3% (n=100) of falls resulted in an injury. We identified a significant proportion of injuries (41%) in and around the starting gate. Over a quarter of incidents resulting in injury required further medical care in hospital or other medical facility, while surgery was required in 2.5% of injuries. CONCLUSION: Access to a consistent group of sports medicine providers facilitated jockey injury reporting and tracking. The majority of jockey injuries is related to soft tissue and results from falls, while the starting gate area is associated with the greatest proportion of injuries.