Watching the Belmont… also, those uniforms look baggy… maybe they should invest in speed suits?
Or the horses?
Watching the Belmont… also, those uniforms look baggy… maybe they should invest in speed suits?
They tried to introduce tight ‘aero’ jockey silks a while ago and they didn’t really catch on. Since they’re mostly hidden by the horse’s head & neck it probably doesn’t make much difference.
Watching the Belmont… also, those uniforms look baggy… maybe they should invest in speed suits?
They tried to introduce tight ‘aero’ jockey silks a while ago and they didn’t really catch on. Since they’re mostly hidden by the horse’s head & neck it probably doesn’t make much difference.
I bet the rider aerodynamics do matter. Part of the reason it may not be catching on is because it’s hard to quantify the speed differences since there is no horse power meter…and horses can’t talk and give their trainer’s feedback.
If a horse does 5 trial runs where the jockey wears various aero and non aero clothing/equipment…how do you isolate the testing so that the speed results only reflect the aerodynamic variables? You can’t tell the horse to pace them all the same…nor is there any way to measure the horse’s output and plug that into Golden Cheetah’s aerolab…LOL.
Time to take the horse to the wind tunnel.
I ask the same thing every time I watch snow board cross.
Watching the Belmont… also, those uniforms look baggy… maybe they should invest in speed suits?
They tried to introduce tight ‘aero’ jockey silks a while ago and they didn’t really catch on. Since they’re mostly hidden by the horse’s head & neck it probably doesn’t make much difference.
I bet the rider aerodynamics do matter. Part of the reason it may not be catching on is because it’s hard to quantify the speed differences since there is no horse power meter…and horses can’t talk and give their trainer’s feedback.
If a horse does 5 trial runs where the jockey wears various aero and non aero clothing/equipment…how do you isolate the testing so that the speed results only reflect the aerodynamic variables? You can’t tell the horse to pace them all the same…nor is there any way to measure the horse’s output and plug that into Golden Cheetah’s aerolab…LOL.
Time to take the horse to the wind tunnel.
They’re also drafting for most of the race. Don’t the aerodynamics matter more in a TT-like race?
That shadow roll on American Pharoah’s nose is definitely not aero.
Having spent time in a previous career training horses to break from a starting gate, I can answer your original question.
Things regularly go wrong while riding horses at high speed. A helmet with a pointed end could quickly become a weapon of mass destruction to either the rider or the horse in case of an accident.
Casco makes helmets for both the cycling and equestrian markets. The safety measures are similar because the head impact upon falling is related.
As to the jockey silks, that is more of a tradition than anything else.
Oddly logical 
(And thanks, by the way!)
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Watching the Belmont… also, those uniforms look baggy… maybe they should invest in speed suits?
Gawd, I thought shaving my legs was a chore.
I ask the same thing every time I watch snow board cross.
it’s gotta matter just like wearing aero clothing in a mass start bike race still matters. The first snowboard cross guy who shows up in a skin suit like a downhill skier or speed skater and starts taking every win and you will see them all flip over to aero. Same thing with the jockey’s but to a lesser extent.
I ask the same thing every time I watch snow board cross.
it’s gotta matter just like wearing aero clothing in a mass start bike race still matters. The first snowboard cross guy who shows up in a skin suit like a downhill skier or speed skater and starts taking every win and you will see them all flip over to aero. Same thing with the jockey’s but to a lesser extent.
I don’t think they are allowed to. This is an older article from 2010 but likely still applies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html?_r=0
I ask the same thing every time I watch snow board cross.
it’s gotta matter just like wearing aero clothing in a mass start bike race still matters. The first snowboard cross guy who shows up in a skin suit like a downhill skier or speed skater and starts taking every win and you will see them all flip over to aero. Same thing with the jockey’s but to a lesser extent.
Well said Dev. Tradition only goes so far, once people start taking your money “tradition” becomes “old fashioned” very quickly!
The horses are doped to the gills, and the jockeys are only there as ballast, so the all weigh the same = Aerodynamics are far less important than Pharmaceutics
The tiny humans MIGHT provide some input to make the horses run faster, but no one has conclusively proven that
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I’ve thought about this a lot lately when it comes to baseball players. Getting to first base .1 secs faster can mean the difference between excellent and below average speed. I have to imagine that tight fitting uniforms confer a speed advantage - similar to how track sprinters all wear aero speed suits.
But most players nowadays wear super baggy pants with their pant legs dragging on the ground. Pretty much the main excuse I’ve seen for not wearing more aero clothing is that players think it looks ridiculous.
What good is a power meter anyway? It would always read 745 watts would it not?
Looking forward to the day we have horses with shaved manes, tails, forelocks and wearing aero speedsuits. Horse helmets optional.
because then jockeys would look as stupid as triathletes, and horses have more dignity than that.
-mike
A helmet with a pointed end could quickly become a weapon of mass destruction to either the rider or the horse in case of an accident.
Just like bike helmets.
The safety measures are similar because the head impact upon falling is related.
The jockey falls much farther, but usually lands on soft ground rather than a hard surface. Seems pretty different.
What good is a power meter anyway? It would always read 745 watts would it not?
Is that horse FTP or is it Belmont Stakes short duration power?
What was the weird bit that American Pharoh had in his mouth? figure it was something to hold him back a little. I hadn’t noticed it in the other races.