Time for sponsors to step forward and back jockeys' invaluable insurance scheme

At first glance it may not appear so, but for many successful sportspeople it is not all about winning, medals and adulation.

This is illustrated most starkly by the fate of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, five of whom have suffered from dementia, a condition that has disproportionately affected footballers from the 1960s and 1970s, including Nobby Stiles, who died at the end of last month.

The damage inflicted by frequently having to head heavy footballs for years has seemingly affected a generation of players, while plenty of professional tennis players suffer from chronic back problems as a result of the repetitive strain of serving.

Jockeys also pay an obvious price for their profession, with numerous dislocations, breaks and concussions, and sadly this will often outweigh the success.

Given this, it is disappointing a sponsor has yet to be found to fund the Career Ending Insurance Scheme (CEI), which helps cushion the blow of a career-ending injury by paying out up to £100,000 for any jockey no longer able to ride.

The scheme was sponsored by the Stobart Group from 2011 to 2019, and is now funded by the Professional Jockeys Association. But the PJA cannot afford to finance it in perpetuity, and in the absence of a sponsor jockeys have been advised to take out individual insurance schemes.

Not surprisingly, given the perilous nature of their profession the annual cost is high: up to £10,000 over jumps and £6,250 on the Flat.

This is a huge financial burden for most jockeys. A Professional Riders' Insurance scheme, which is paid by owners as a surcharge on riding fees, is the first port of call for injured jockeys, but CEI is an important and essential additional means of insurance for jockeys who suddenly find themselves without a career.

The support network for injured jockeys is by and large excellent, and the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Jockeys Education & Training Scheme have helped many a rider in tough times. But it is regrettable that, in a sport in which the dangers can be so extreme and where jockeys are continually putting their physical safety on the line, a new sponsor has yet to emerge.

Times are tough at the moment, and the cost of annual sponsorship of CEI is £320,000. That is a large sum, but perhaps not as large when viewed alongside the prices paid for thoroughbreds sold to race on the Flat and over jumps.

Surely, somewhere, somebody can afford to back this essential scheme.

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