Child jockeys 'treated cruelly'... Bangkok post 10.7.06

Child jockeys whose riding skills thrill racegoers at tracks in Udon Thani and Khon Kaen endure cruel working conditions, a labour abuse study has found. Their growth is deliberately stunted, they are exposed to a hazardous working environment and are grossly underpaid, it said.



Jaranya Wongprom, of a research and development institute at Khon Kaen University, said a study of child labour in the Northeast found many horse owners in the region recruit children as jockeys.



The young jockeys are often fed less, with carbohydrates and proteins restricted so they lose weight.



Their growth is controlled to ensure they stay small and light enough to ride. The youngsters suffered from malnutrition and were forced to undergo strenuous training for more than two hours each day.



The information was gathered from a racing track in Udon Thani which opens on Saturdays and another in Khon Kaen which operates on Sundays.



In Udon Thani, the study based its findings on five stables, each with 10 to 15 child jockeys. The youngest boy was only nine years old.



Mrs Jaranya said the children were paid 2,000 baht a month. In their free time they liked to socialise with friends but spent their earnings on alcohol and gambling on horse races, she said.



Another survey of 598 child workers in Mae Sot and Phop Phra districts of Tak province found 90% were from outside Thailand and the other 10% were stateless.



The youngest was only seven years old, Nongyao Naowarat of Chiang Mai University told a recent seminar on child labour in six provinces _ Chiang Rai, Tak, Udon Thani, Songkhla, Pattani and Samut Sakhon.



The children had to work without protective gear in farming areas where chemical fertilisers and pesticides were used, the study said.



Another study by Surapon Pathanwanich of Thammasat University found that 10 million children have been forced to work as labourers over the past decade. There were now about 340,000 child labourers, making up 1% of the workforce.

What is the lightest jockey weight in horse racing? Is it internationally set, as most of the big asian tracks carry about the same light weight (with apprentice allowance) of about 45 to 47 kgs, as do Aussie and Kiwiland. Below that weight it is doubtful wether the balance would be sufficent to control a race horse, and whether the legalised international racing industry would allow it. And a starved Biafrian for training is not a lot of use if a 45 kg weight has to be met on race day. .
Find that story hard to believe, as my thai girl eats like a horse but still tips the scales at a massively big 45 kgs soaking wet. I think jockeys 'a la natural' 40 kgs would be a dime a dozen in Thailand without starving them.

'hazardous working environment and are grossly underpaid' - same as most farming type jobs.

yeah seems strange that they would let 9 year old boys race horses,and try and stunt their growth, but remember this is Thailand.
Has anyone been there and seen it with their own eyes i wonder.
Obviously lighter the better but i should imagine that the boys were strong little men,maybe they hang on for dear life.

True story a friend of mine who owns race horse

Its like everything in Thailand..."dont knock it, use it"

I always stand in line behind the boy jockeys when they place thier bets

Haven't lost yet

TC

[quote="hxjohn"]
I was there and saw for myself I think its best not to get involved on this forum with what Thai

"Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still"

...T.S. Eliot.