By Robbie Butler
AP McCoy shocked many people on Saturday when he announced, live on air, he will retire from racing at the end of this season. For the past twenty years the Antrim native has been crowned British Champion Jump Jockey, has won pretty much every race there is to win, and has set a new standard in sporting excellence. His announcement over the weekend, whilst taking many by surprise, is typical of a man who wanted to leave the sport of kings on his own terms.
Last week, before AP had made his announcement, I started to look at the prize money accumulated by Irish jockeys from the 2011-2012 season to the current campaign. A very interesting picture emerged.
AP McCoy shocked many people on Saturday when he announced, live on air, he will retire from racing at the end of this season. For the past twenty years the Antrim native has been crowned British Champion Jump Jockey, has won pretty much every race there is to win, and has set a new standard in sporting excellence. His announcement over the weekend, whilst taking many by surprise, is typical of a man who wanted to leave the sport of kings on his own terms.
Last week, before AP had made his announcement, I started to look at the prize money accumulated by Irish jockeys from the 2011-2012 season to the current campaign. A very interesting picture emerged.
Source: irishracing.com
It appears the Pareto Principle holds. For those unfamiliar with this principle, it states that for most things a roughly 80:20 split exists. The principle is named it after Vilfredo Pareto, who suggested that land ownership in Italy in the 19th century was split roughly this way; 20% of the people owned 80% of the land.
The top 20% of jockeys have shared more than €65 million between them since 2011. The remaining 80% have won just under €19 million.
The top 20% of jockeys have shared more than €65 million between them since 2011. The remaining 80% have won just under €19 million.
RSS Feed
