Jockey Jamie Moore says he had no choice but to retire after doctors told him his MRI results looked like those of a “car accident victim”.
The 39-year-old retired in mid-February on medical grounds after a fall at Lingfield in November 2023 left Moore with a fractured vertebra.
The seven-time Grade One winner had originally hoped to return to racing but was advised against it.
“It’s a risky sport and I was lucky, I got 22 years out of it,” Moore said.
“I had CT scans and it was really fine,” he told BBC Sport’s Laura Scott.
They then recommended that he get an MRI of his brain.
“There was just a scattering of brain hemorrhages there from the falls,” he said.
“We couldn’t tell if it was that fall in November, or it could have been a fall before that, it could have been from years of jockeys, years of falls.
“But I’m actually really glad we did this because I think it’s going to help the whole sport with concussions, more guys will probably get more brain MRIs.
“The way the doctor put it to me was, ‘I see a lot of footballers, rugby players and boxers and your brain, it doesn’t look like any of them’. And I was thinking, ‘That’s really good.’ Then he said, ‘It looks like a car accident victim.’ .
“And then it hits you, you think, ‘I’m definitely not going to ride anymore’. It was hard to accept, but at the same time I’m lucky.
“There are a lot of riders who didn’t manage to get away and I managed to get away. So I’m very lucky in that respect.”
Moore began his career at the age of 17 and rode 968 winners during his 22 years in the saddle.
His most famous win came in 2014 when he rode Sire De Grugy to victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
November’s fall at Lingfield not only left Moore with a significant concussion and broken teeth, but also a fractured spine.
Although the protocols improved during Moore’s career, his retirement has raised awareness of the impact of falls on racing.
“Anyway [there’s been improvements]. I started riding in 2001 and compared to what it is now, it’s a big thing now,” Moore said.
“You hear about young lads who have stopped leading football, and also rugby, because of early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s, but certainly the games and sports seem to be doing as much as they can.
“You’re trying to stop an athlete from doing something and it’s not easy for doctors to do that, but they stopped me, but I’m near the end of my career anyway.”
While Moore says he’s showing minimal effects from his fall, he says he’s noticed small changes.
“The only thing is, if I’m playing football with my little boy, spinning around quickly makes me a little dizzy,” she said.
“I took him on some chutes at an indoor water park a few weeks ago and I got off one and thought ‘I can’t do this’ so I notice that difference, I feel a bit sick.”