Horse racing is without a doubt one of the oldest and most thrilling sports on the planet. However, in the past couple of years, statistics show that its popularity has been decreasing. According to statistics, in the US alone, attendance at horse racing events has gone down by almost 30% since the start of the new millennium.
This is the reason why people are looking to come up with new initiatives and solve the challenges of today and tomorrow. One of the concepts that has been thrown around quite a lot recently is the use of robot jockeys. We’ll explain what they represent and whether we should expect them in the near future.
What are Robot Jockeys?
As the term itself suggests, robot jockeys are robotic inventions made with the purpose of replacing human jockeys. They are already present in camel races across the Middle East. Robot jockeys appeared in the early 2000s in response to children who suffered human rights abuses.
In 2005, children jockeys were banned and that allowed robot jockeys to expand in the industry. So far, they proved to have decent results, which is why some are pitching the idea of them crossing over to horse racing.
Robot Jockeys and Horse Racing at The Moment
Horse racing is all about the thrill. The connection between the jockeys and their horses is something special and it needs to be nurtured. Furthermore, some jockeys themselves are responsible for uplifting the sport itself as they are extremely influential.
Some specific horse races are known as events where some of the world’s best jockeys go head to head. Take the Grand National as an example. Throughout the years, we’ve been able to witness the likes of Ruby Walsh, Derek Fox, Daryl Jacob, Rachael Blackmore, Mark Walsh and Sam Twiston-Davies.
Their competitiveness just adds to the excitement and that raises the popularity and passion for the sport itself. So, considering the fact that robot jockeys are mainly in place to prevent children from racing, we probably won’t see them for the time being, as the favourite to win the Grand National will be ridden by a human jockey. At least that’s what traditional fans are saying.
The Potential Benefits of Robot Jockeys
The biggest confrontation here is tradition versus technology. Each sport has evolved over the years and modern scientists believe that this is needed for horse racing to reach a new stage. One of the main arguments for those in favour of technology is that robot jockeys will increase the overall safety of the sport.
Robot jockeys would be controlled by humans and have voice commands that will let them communicate with the horses. An additional advantage would be the fact that they can be much lighter than humans.
This is important and can benefit horses because the lighter the load is, the faster the horse will sprint. One company that develops robot jockeys even announced that is already working on bringing these products to the US and Europe.
Robot Horses Are Also in the Conversation
During the 2019 Japan Cup (Tokyo), a robot horse was used to promote the tournament itself. That captured the attention of some fans. They even proposed to robotize the whole industry. Instead of having human jockeys and real horses, they thought that robot horses and jockeys were a better solution.
However, this is a major step in a different direction and nobody’s certain whether it will improve the sport or not. After all, horse racing is a sport whose identity relies on tradition.
Everything here is about watching both the jockeys and the horses, placing some bets on them, following the dress codes, etc. It’s actually one of the few sports that managed to remain true to its core over the years.
Can Robot Jockeys Be the Future of Horse Racing?
Unfortunately, it’s extremely hard for robot jockeys to replace human jockeys. At least, not in the near future. Real jockeys are what make the sport much more realistic and fun to watch. After all, they bring in the human factor.
Yes, this factor can sometimes be beneficial and sometimes it can be the cause of a mistake, but that’s what makes the sport great. By including robot jockeys (and robot horses), it’ll be much easier to predict the outcomes and thus, it’ll take the fun out of the sport.
Plus, the main reason why robots even went into the picture was to replace children who were malnourished. Horse racing doesn’t have that problem. All jockeys here need to be at least 16 years old to compete, but the general average age of jockeys is around 30. Hence, all those who compete are adults.
Even if we witness the birth of robot jockeys for horse racing, we doubt that they will compete in the same races as real jockeys.