David Maxwell may have been an amateur but he could never be accused of not taking his riding seriously. He was sometimes lambasted for his style and even pilloried for the odd howler, but over the course of his career in the saddle he seems to have examined matters in forensic detail and come up with a spreadsheet that put the pros and cons in perspective. The figures may be a little out one way or another, but the gist is unmistakable. 

“Professional jockeys expect a fall every 20 rides,” he states, with an economics degree from Cambridge to support his case. “They expect a minor injury every 60 rides, and every 200 rides they expect to break something. So, here’s the job description: if the riding fee is roughly £200, every £4,000 you’re going to fall off the ladder; every £12,000 I’m going to kick you until you get a nasty bit of bruising; and every £40,000 I’m going to come round your house with a baseball bat and break your arm.

“By this stage you may be having second thoughts and asking what else have they got that’s a bit safer?”

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Published on 18 October 2025inThe Big Read

Last updated 18:02, 18 October 2025