Apprentice Jockeys and Low Wages

The tragic death of two apprentice jockeys in an incident in North Yorkshire last weekend has prompted much press coverage of the ambitions and daily lives of the young people who aspire to make it into the intensely competitive world of professional horse racing. It struck me, reading this article in the Times, that the apprentice jockey is an excellent example to use of how a highly elastic supply of young people who want to reach their dreams has an effect on pay and conditions in their own particular labour market.

There are large hurdles (or barriers to entry) for people wanting to be a fully-fledged professional jockey. Last year less than 6% of apprentices made it into the professional ranks. For the humble apprentice desperately looking for rides and that all-important chance, the basic salary is likely to be little more than £10,000 a year for a job that involved huge hours many of which are at unsocial times plus the hard graft of traveling around the country from one course to another.

The Times article talks about “an endless supply of young talent” seeking one of the very few (and highly coveted) apprenticeship schemes. In other words, the supply of labour into the market is highly elastic at a relatively low wage rate. Little wonder that Trainers can employ apprentice jockeys at a low wage rate - and also take a slice of their riding fees.

According to the Times article:

*Until their success dictates otherwise, apprentices earn the basic stable lad’s wage. This starts at about £158.87 for a 45-hour week, rising to £214.94 between the ages of 16 to 21
*Generally, a trainer will take half the riding fees generated by his apprentice while paying half of his expenses. The riding fee on the Flat is £103.45

The passion of young jockeys also invites a discussion with students of the non-pecuniary aspects of work - the paradox being that many of the hardest jobs, both in physical effort and risk - are those that are deeply attractive to plenty of young people and thus carry virtually nothing in the way of compensating financial incentives.