Queensland’s apprentice system gets huge overhaul: ‘We want to be teaching these jockeys life skills’

Apprentice jockeys in Queensland will be put through an academy style system which will teach them life skills, as well as racing in an attempt to produce better talent in the Sunshine State.

There will be an overhaul of the Queensland apprentice system. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Queensland’s apprentice jockey system will be dramatically overhauled in an attempt to produce better talent in the Sunshine State.

An academy style system will be implemented in Queensland, which will teach young jockeys regular life skills, along with racing, to better set them up for success on and off the track.

Apprentice jockeys in Queensland currently have access to all prizemoney they win from day one, however they will now have the option to put it in a trust fund like other states in an attempt to help them manage their money better.

Former South Australian apprentice academy boss Briony Moore has been appointed to oversee the transformation, which could be in place for next year.

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Queensland has one of the biggest apprentice programs in the country, with Moore, the sister of champion jockey Dwayne Dunn, set to play a pivotal role in helping the next generation.

Racing Queensland chief executive Jason Scott said it would be just as important to teach the apprentices how to be good people, as it is to be good jockeys.

“It is going to be more professional than what it has been,” Scott said.

“We want to be teaching these apprentices life skills, as well as horses. It will be an academy that has a graduating class each year, similar to what you see in Victoria and South Australia.

Briony Moore (middle) will be in charge of overseeing the apprentice jockey system in Queensland. Picture: Tom Huntley.

“It will be about teaching them how to manage money, how to do other things in life, we need to do that.

“We have the talent here in Queensland, it is just getting the management right.”

Scott said they would attempt to implement the new system by the end of the year, however conceded it could take longer.

“How long it takes, whether it can be done or not in five months, I’m not sure, it could be the year afterwards,” he said.

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It comes after champion trainer Tony Gollan called for the current system to be shaken up earlier this year.

Gollan, along with champion jockey turned trainer Chris Munce said apprentice’s were given too much rein under the current model and wanted to see them employed under a central model.

The Queensland Jockeys Association also said it was a “recipe for disaster” in allowing the apprentices access to all of their prizemoney winnings straight away.

“Apprentice jockeys are not like apprentices in other industries, they have the opportunity to earn $1000-$10,000 a week,” QJA boss Glen Prentice said.

“Letting someone loose with that sort of money when they are at that young age, it can be a recipe for disaster.

“We would love to see a trust fund system in place.”

Originally published as Queensland’s apprentice system gets huge overhaul: ‘We want to be teaching these jockeys life skills’