Hayley Turner Recalls Five Naked Jockeys in Southwell Sauna

hayley turner said she was 17 when a racecourse sauna turned into the sort of first-day shock she never forgot. She went in to lose a pound or two, found five naked jockeys inside, and never used a sauna again.

Southwell and the sauna

Turner said the episode came at Southwell, where she went for her first race and had no idea what to expect. “The first time I ever had a race I went to Southwell and I had no idea. I was oblivious to it all.”

She said she had been told to use the sauna because of her weight. “That day I was told to go in the sauna because I had a really light weight.”

What she found was a male space that was not built with her in mind. “The trainer said, ‘oh just jump in the sauna and lose a pound or two’. So I went into the sauna and I didn’t realise that there were adjoining doors to the male changing rooms.”

Racecourses and women riders

Turner said the problem was bigger than one awkward moment. She said some racecourses have “really stepped up and improved a lot” since she started out, but “quite a few haven’t,” including tracks used regularly. Last year, a report said female riders still had to enter the men’s changing rooms to reach valets at some courses.

That sits against a wider shift in the sport. A number of racecourses have been modernising to meet British Horseracing Authority rules, and all racecourses must comply by the end of 2027. Turner’s experience shows why the upgrade race still matters to riders trying to get through a working day without navigating facilities built around men.

Turner, who has retired, said the moment has stayed with her. “I walked in the sauna and there were like five naked jockeys sat there. I’ve never been back in a sauna since.”

For the 37 professional women jockeys in the UK, the practical question is straightforward: whether the course they arrive at has proper access, proper changing areas and a route to the valets that does not still run through the men’s side.