Being a jockey is a dangerous career, with riders at risk of serious injury and death

* NSW jockey Darren Jones, 49, died in a three-horse fall at Warialda in the state’s north on April 8

* Two former Queensland jockeys – Ben Saunders , 54, and Wade Clasohm, 47 – are unlikely to walk again after falling during trackwork at Toowoomba the same day

* But trackwork rider Kate Nipperess this week defied the odds by walking out of hospital on a walker more than eight months after suffering spinal injuries at Warwick Farm

* “A jockey weighing 50 to 60kg, riding a 550km thoroughbred at 60km per hour does not allow much margin for error” – the National Jockeys Trust

* 840 jockeys are currently registered in Australia

* Since records began, 883 have been killed in race falls, with 17 fatalities since 2000

* There are about 500 falls each year in both trackwork and races, and roughly 200 jockeys are injured

* Of these, 40 per cent are unable to ride for more than a month and 5 per cent never ride again

* More than half of the country’s jockeys earn less than $60,000 a year

* Between 10 to 12 jockey deaths, and 50 career-ending injuries, are projected for the next decade

Data from the National Jockeys Trust – a charity providing financial and other support for jockeys and their families during illness, or after accidents or deaths
 

SYDNEY, April 12 AAP