AUSTRALIAN racing is suffering a problem shared by most Western countries. As Australians grow taller and heavier, fewer and fewer have the shape and size to be jockeys and trackwork riders, and trainers struggle to find key personnel, reports The Age.It says: Now the nation's racing ministers are pressing the Immigration Department and the federal government to accelerate applications from immigrants and foreign stable staff to make it easier for them to get into the country, and for trainers t
AUSTRALIAN racing is suffering a problem shared by most Western countries. As Australians grow taller and heavier, fewer and fewer have the shape and size to be jockeys and trackwork riders, and trainers struggle to find key personnel, reports The Age.
It says: Now the nation's racing ministers are pressing the Immigration Department and the federal government to accelerate applications from immigrants and foreign stable staff to make it easier for them to get into the country, and for trainers to find the right workers to keep this multibillion-dollar industry ticking over.
Size is only part of the problem. The increasing urbanisation of contemporary Australia means that fewer agricultural workers or unskilled staff are available to be trained up for work in stables in rural areas. Many city dwellers do not want to move out of town to the urban fringe for employment or are not interested in the early starts and physical nature of a job in which the rewards often are as much emotional as they are financial.