A BATTLE FORA LIVING

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31114, 18 July 1966, Page 9

A BATTLE FORA LIVING

Brie Guerin is one ot the world’s greatest jockeys. For the past 15 years he., has been consistently among the top riders' in the United States and has ridden such horses as the immortal Native Dancer. He has won more than 15,000,000. dollars in purses, which places him among the top 15 jockeys of all nations of all time. And yet his -whole life, his whole-future, depends on one thing his weight. The battle to keep his weight down has been a daily struggle for Eric Guerin for each day during the past 15 years. But let him tell the story: "Most mornings I get out ot bed anywhere from a pound or two overweight Sometimes I*m three pounds over my limit of 1121 b. “Then there’s only one thing to do. 1 go to the racetrack and sit In a 130degree sauna bath and let the extra pounds drip on to the floor. "1 must do all this without weakening myself, or 1 stand a good chance of being killed. Each working afternoon I am working .with several healthy horses that weigh at least 10001 b apiece. "Dieting is a major part of my life. I stick rigidly to a strenuous diet prescribed by the racecourse doctor. There's really nothing special about it it’s just plain hard work. There can be no faltering. “But along with the diet, I must lose weight without losing health or strength. That’s where the sauna bath comes in. “I leave the house’ at W o'clock each morning. X drive straight to the track and get into the sauna bath. “The minute I step into that ,130-degree heat, X alt down and relax every muscle in my body. That’s important. Relaxation is vitaL" And that’s'how one of the I world’s most vital sportsmen wins the battle for survival in a sport where only - the fittest can survive. The sauna bath is an essential ’ part of his everyday life., to keep his weight down and keep him healthy.