NO ONE is coming up with any sort of alternative – and yet ‘saunas are not the answer’ people still write and cry. Oh my.
The concept that saunas affect jockeys’ athletic performance and that racing’s rulers are saving them from disaster is, to be quite frank, quite ridiculous.
It’s as if people are judging horseracing like it’s some playful sport, rather than an industry.
Most jockeys, like most people in any sport, perform every day with some sort of injury. That in itself is much more serious than any small amount of time spent in a sauna. But we trust them not to put themselves or others in danger.
Saunas might not be ideal. A headache might not be ideal. Feeling sick after a dodgy meal might not be ideal. They might all in their own way affect a jockeys performance. But we’re talking in such small amounts that you just have to let them get on with it.