'Once you’ve been in business class you want to stay there' - former jockeys' chief on the disparity in weighing room standards

A former chief executive of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) is unsurprised that riders have spoken out about the state of some of Britain's weighing rooms and believes the removal of saunas has contributed to the issue. 

Last week, the Racing Post exposed the shocking state of some of Britain's weighing rooms, while also revealing the challenges female jockeys often still face compared to their male counterparts.

A number of riders voiced their concerns about the lack of progress regarding weighing room upgrades and Michael Caulfield said he understands why the sport's participants expect better and more consistent treatment at racecourses.

"Of course they want to be around the best facilities," said Caulfield, who spent 15 years with the PJA and now works as a sports psychologist for Premier League football club Brentford. 

"The new facilities at Brighton are awesome and Brighton isn’t Epsom, Newmarket or Cheltenham. I suspect everyone wants that to be the standard at the smaller tracks.

Temporary facilities were put in place for jockeys at Bangor on Saturday

"There have been standards set. I doubt this will be happening at York or Ascot because they’re like business class. Once you’ve been in business class you want to stay there and it will obviously be a disappointment when you’re shuffled to the back on the plane."

The PJA wants the BHA to make it a condition of a course's licence that it meets agreed standards by the end of 2026. The work was meant to be completed by a deadline of October 2024, but some tracks do not expect to be finished until 2030. 

"Courses like Brighton have vastly improved and I suspect others haven’t kept up," said Caulfield. "I also suspect there’s pressure on courses, not just financially but space wise too. Weighing rooms have changed over the years and the whole situation is very different to what it was."

In last week's special report, Cheltenham Festival-winning rider Lorcan Williams was pictured using an exercise bike next to some urinals at Bangor, which Caufield said may not only be linked to a lack of space but the decision to remove saunas.

Lorcan Williams using a warm-up bike in the toilet at Bangor

"The reason you have jockeys pictured on an exercise bike next to the urinals was because there was a decision to remove the saunas," he added. "They were taken away with the best intentions, but it’s created a situation where people have to manage their weight on a daily basis in a very different way now.

"Their removal has caused a whole set of problems that nobody wants to address. If there were saunas you wouldn’t have jockeys doing remarkable things to lose a pound or two before racing. It’s taken the problem elsewhere and made it worse for jockeys' safety and weight management. It’s made it more difficult."

Read these next:

Tom Marquand: 'People will think the photo of a jockey on a bike next to the toilets is a one-off - but it's really not' 

‘All you can think about is that smell’ - the shocking conditions inside Britain’s weighing rooms revealed 

The shocking state of female changing rooms dubbed 'racing's dirty secret' 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.