JOHN Butler, the physio who treats jockeys at racecourses, is marking 25 years in business this year. From Offaly, but based at his sports injury clinic in Galway, John started working in racing in 2012 and the service gradually expanded.

Chatting to The Irish Field this week, John said: “When we started, we shared the medical room with the racecourse doctor, but facilities have improved a lot since then and now racecourses usually include a physio space when they are designing a new weighroom.”

Another big change in recent years has been the removal of racecourse saunas for jockeys. According to John, flat jockeys who need to make weight are less likely to get physio without a sauna to soften the skin. It’s a controversial topic, but John feels that jockeys lost something more than steam when the saunas were shut down for good during Covid. “I think for some jockeys, the sauna was a place to relax and chat to one another,” he says. “I’d like to see the saunas re-open in a regulated way. Without them, flat jockeys are losing out on both the sauna and the physio. Today’s jockeys can be trusted to act responsibly.”

John is also a great fundraiser for charity and is happy to hear from those with new ideas to help others.