serious doubts of mine

Question
hello sir, serious doubts:

1) sir, are you sure a jockey train racehorses professionally as well as ride in the races. please dont take me wrong, i have crossed checked what you have said with my friend, who is working as a trackwork rider in WARWICK FARM RACECOURSE. he told me a racing professional has to surrender his current license to take up an other profession from racing industry. so, are you sure that a jockey can really train racehorses professionally like a trainer as well as ride in the races??

2) sir, what are the uses of "EVENS" in horse racing? why do punters come ahead to place a bet when they dont get a bonus dividend?

3) sir, i believe that AUS and NZ racehorses birthday is on august 1st. why like that? actually indian, british, irish, american racehorse birthdays is on jan 1st.

4) why it is a must for all jockeys to come in formals to races on the raceday? why jockeys are not supposed to wear casuals. any way jockeys would be mostly in silks, trousers, boots and helmets

Answer
Hi Rohit,
        We have a very good jockey currently riding in NZ who also trains horses His name is David Walsh. I think the rule is that a jockey can not own a racehorse and ride as well. The rules can be different in other countries. You can check this by looking at The Rules of Racing at www.nzracing.co.nz. I am not sure of the rules in Australia.

I mentioned to you a while ago about a horse called Black caviar that is currently racing in Melbourne. It won again on Saturday as I predicted but it paid exactly $1 for the win. So for punters in NZ who backed it they would simply get their money back. Not much sense in that is there. There were only 4 starters in the race.

The common birthday for all horses is an aid to the racing and breeding industries. In the Northern Hemishpere the date is Jan 1 (middle of winter) and August 1 in the Southerm Hemisphere (middle of winter).

As for formal dress, I don't think is a rule in NZ but jockeys want to project a professional image so they are encouraged to wear a good standard of clothing. In the USA and some European countries, many jockeys have a valet who looks after their gear, helps them dress, runs messages etc but that is not the case in NZ or Australia. A jockey would not normally enter a race course wearing silks.

Hope this helps,
Don