A JOCKEY has revealed he earned so little money racing for a living that it actually cost him money going to work.
Tyler Heard said he drove 45,000 miles in 12 months and spent the equivalent of a month of his life in his car.
Tyler said he didn’t make a penny riding for a living in Britain so ditched life in Blighty for the bright lights of America
The 20-year-old Brit and girlfriend Grace McEntee sacked off England for the US last month.
And after a winner on just his second ride, Tyler said he made more in one night than he did in a month in Britain.
The stark contrast between cash on offer abroad and at home for those jockeys not right at the very top appears to pose a huge problem for British racing.
How can they keep the top talent at home and convince them that riding domestically is best for their careers?
Tyler said there is no contest after winning a £29,435 race in West Virginia.
He admitted he ‘didn’t make a penny last year’ and that it cost him money to race.
But now he has a kick-started a hopefully much better standard of living in the States.
He said: “It was my first ride on dirt and I earned more in that one night than in any of the months of the last 12 that I spent in England.
“The bottom line is I left the country because I was bleeding money.
“To continue to compete in the sport I love, plan for the future, have a nicer life, I had to fly 4,500 miles away from my home.
“I didn’t make a penny last year, it probably cost me money to ride.”
Tyler won 56 races in all in England and was apprenticed to top trainer Richard Hughes in racing hotbed Lambourn.
But even despite his success he said he found the British racing culture ‘cliquey’.
He told the Racing Post: “I feel as though racing in England is withering away.
“There’s so much competition between jockeys. They’re all equally capable of riding winners and it felt very cliquey to me.
“You had to be a somebody before you started to get somewhere.”
Proud girlfriend Grace echoed his sentiments, writing online: “Something needs to change.
“You shouldn’t have to move half-way across the world to be able to make a living doing the job you want to do.”
Their fellow Jamie Gormle recently said he’s quitting racing after making just £30 for ten hours’ work.
