Falls, injuries, starvation: What life is like for jockeys in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Horses galloped past, riders perched high on their backs as the sun rose over Singapore Turf Club’s Kranji racetrack.

Jockeys and stable hands here start their day before the sun is up, getting ready to exercise the horses before the tracks open at 6am.

Apprentice jockey Jerlyn Seow’s horse strained at her reins as it cantered round the track, eager to go. It takes strength and skill to guide the spirited and well-muscled thoroughbreds.

On a typical day, Seow takes six to 10 horses around the track.

If horses don't get enough exercise, they get stressed and may develop colic, which can lead to death in severe cases. They might also get “too fresh”, says the 29-year-old.

“When horses are too fresh, they have the tendency to injure themselves, like outside on the road, or inside the box. They could jump around, buck around, kick the walls and they might hurt themselves,” she said.

Track work ends at 10am, and horses are led back to the stables where they are washed and brushed. Professional jockeys who have earned their stripes only have to ride, and they end their day here.

As an apprentice who got her racing licence just two years ago, Seow helps to care for horses, brushing them down, cleaning their boxes and feeding them. She’s attached to the Stephen Crutchley Stable and was working towards becoming a full-fledged jockey – until the authorities announced the impending closure of Singapore Turf Club by October 2024.

It’s an unusual choice for a young woman, especially since she didn’t take naturally to horse riding.

“From young, I've watched this Hong Kong drama called On and Off The Track. It left a deep impression on me (that) horse racing is a majestic sport,” she said. 

Seven years ago, Seow decided to pursue her dream and joined a Singapore Turf Club training programme. But she dropped out after six months after one too many fall from a horse.

She then worked for different stables to train and gain experience, but suffered an ankle injury after another fall. The steeds are strong and can be temperamental, and accidents can happen in a split second, she said.

“What kept me going? Because I really love riding horses … to be able to see my horses every day kept me going, to come to work every single day.”

"I COULDN'T REMEMBER MY WIFE"

Seasoned jockeys like Matthew Kellady, 44, are no strangers to injuries. “We risk our lives out there,” he said more than once during our interview.

In 2007, the year he turned professional, his horse collided with another horse that had fallen during a race. Kellady crashed head-first onto the track.

A third horse then ran over him, nearly tearing off his ear.

When he came to, he felt a throbbing pain in his left ear but thought he was fine. Then he took off his helmet and felt a “soft spot” in his skull.

Kellady ended up with two titanium plates, one to patch a hole in his skull and the other to mend a fracture on his face.

Two years later, he had another bad fall. This time, he suffered brain trauma and it took months to regain his memory.

“I couldn’t remember my wife. I woke up at the hospital and thought she was a nurse,” he said. 

To make his racing weight, he runs and goes for sauna sessions. On top of that, Kellady sometimes starves himself – and this is the hardest part of his job, he said. 

“Sometimes we can stop eating for three days or four days, dehydrate our whole body  – just to make the body weight to ride the races.”

Despite everything, Kellady goes back to horse racing again and again. He loves horses and the adrenaline of racing, he said.

“I left school at 16 and this is all I know. I've dedicated my whole life to horse racing … I love horses and I love my job. This is what keeps me going,” said Kellady, who was born in Malaysia and became a Singapore citizen recently.

"END OF MY DREAM"

Kellady, who has three children of school-going age, said that the decision to close the Singapore Turf Club could split his family apart. 

He doesn't want to move to a different industry in Singapore, and he won't race in Malaysia as the prize money there is so low it is “ridiculous”, he said. 

He is considering working in Hong Kong but his wife and children can't go with him. He won’t be a jockey there, but he could find a job as a track rider and do other work around the stables.

“The other turf clubs, they have their own criteria … you have to be a top jockey to go overseas. I'm just a normal local jockey, not a big name jockey … it's going to be hard for me,” he said.

Family commitments are also holding Seow back from pursuing her jockey dream.

“This could be (the) end of my dream … if I can’t ride in races locally I have to go overseas, like to Australia. That is a bit difficult because I have commitments here like family, my cats and friends.

“But it's tougher for the rest of them who have worked here throughout their whole life because they have worked since Bukit Timah (Turf Club) era. So everyone is lost.”