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Robin Miller: Why are two-ton horses safe for women and Superbikes not?

Maria Costello might well be watching this weekend's Grand National with more than passing interest. For the first time in 30 years, three women jockeys will be competing and for the first time ever all three will be on good horses with a chance of winning...

And what will also catch Maria's eye is a piece of research which suggests that female jockeys are just as good as men but they have fewer opportunities and generally ride inferior horses. Sound familiar?

The Grand  National, for the uninitiated, is the most famous horse race in the world - the equivalent of the TT in terms of history, profile and danger. The participation of women in all forms of horse racing is at the same level of motorcycle racing but not until 1977 did one ride in the National.

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This year the bookies think that any one of the three, Katie Walsh, Rachel Blackmore or Bryony Frost, are worth backing with 33-year-old Walsh being the most fancied among them having finished third before and a winner of the Irish Grand National. If she does, £561,300 will be coming her way.

"The house will come down of one of them wins. There won't be a dry eye in the house," said Naomi Lawson of Great British Racing. "It will be brilliant for the sport."

But just like many other sports it has been slow going. A piece of research tracking a million individual rides over 14 years found that only 5.2 per cent were taken by women, only 1.1 per cent in Class 1 races with just 11.3 per cent of professional jockey licences held.

What is interesting and encouraging is the research carried out by Vanessa Cashmore of the Northern Racing College which showed that women jockeys were just as good as men. So why not more participants and more winners?

What has this got to do with motorcycle racing in general and the TT  in particular?  Horse racing, especially steeple chasing like the Grand National or Cheltenham, is a very physical and dangerous sport - the only one where an ambulance follows every race. Human fatalities are rare, serious injuries quite often and  broken bones commonplace. It is the horses which suffer.

But if women can control a big hairy beast round the toughest course in the world, why not the TT or, indeed, any other race where there is still concern that Superbikes are just too much for mere women?

It is only relatively recently that women were allowed to become professional jockeys, long after Beryl Swain rode in the 1962 TT and was not allowed to ride again because her 50cc Itom was deemed too dangerous. The problem with horse racing, the research shows - other than male prejudice - is that women are generally given horses with no chance of winning and therefore have few chances to demonstrate their true ability.

Perhaps this year's Grand National will break the vicious circle.

Ladbrokes are offering 10 to 1 on a female winner, short odds for a race of this stature and difficulty. What odds would be given on a woman standing on the top step of the podium on the Glencrutchery Road in June?

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