The debate about whether female jockeys should receive an allowance when competing against male colleagues has been reignited by France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild.
Michelle Payne – Melbourne Cup success
Sir Anthony McCoy sparked plenty of discussion in November, in the wake of Michelle Payne’s ground-breaking Melbourne Cup success, when floating his opinion in a blog for William Hill.
McCoy wrote: “The female jockeys are very, very competent riders but perhaps a woman should receive an allowance like a filly does in a race.
“It’s a very physically demanding sport and they’re not going to be as physically strong as a bloke. They can’t be. Tactically they can be as good but if it comes down to strength in a finish, a woman is not going to be as strong as a man.
“There aren’t many sports where women compete against men and on a day-to-day basis. Are women as physically strong as men? No they’re not. It’s just fact.”
McCoy’s views received some backing, although it appeared the majority of female riders themselves were against the proposal, and the BHA said any plans to help promote women jockeys should stop short of an allowance.
Chantal Sutherland – a jockey, model and TV personality
But now Rothschild has voiced his opinion that the idea of a weight allowance is worthy of serious consideration.
Rothschild is the first senior racing administrator to openly back such a debate and echoed McCoy with his assertion that the sport needed to recognise what he described as “compensation for the difference in physical strength” between male and female riders.
Rothschild was president when France introduced races confined to professional women jockeys a decade ago.
But it was only in July last year Amelie Foulon became the first of her sex to score in a French Group race on the Flat, the Grand Prix de Vichy, aboard the Rothschild owned-and-bred Elliptique.
He said: “The races for women jockeys are a ghetto. In order to compensate for the difference in physical strength with their male counterparts, I support the launch of a study into an allowance for women jockeys, independent of the number of wins they have achieved.”
However, similar to the reaction McCoy’s comments stirred in Britain, so Rothschild’s remarks did not go unanswered in France.
Genevieve Michel – was a top class SA jockey
French Jockeys Association president Jacques Ricou pointed out that there were already women jockeys who would make a mockery of an allowance, citing Nathalie Desoutter, who is closing in on 500 victories, nearly 300 of them over jumps.
“A jockey like Nathalie Desoutter has no need of an additional advantage, she’s on the same footing as the rest of us,” said Ricou.
“Opportunities for female riders is a problem which requires a change of mentality on the part of trainers and above all owners.
“We need to sit down with the people from the jockey schools, with the trainers, owners and jockeys. You have to look at the problem at the base, with the schools and then the apprentices and finally on the track. You won’t solve anything from the top down.”
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