Aussie jockey Daniel Pitomac has spoken openly about his terrifying battle for his health, which is so severe that he barely leaves the house as the effects of blows to his head have left him a shell of his former self.
The 42-year-old father of two is now living with a brain injury after repeated concussions and head bumps throughout his career, and it’s having a devastating effect on his life.
Pitomac, who lives in the NSW country town of Wellington, will soon have his story told as part of a three-part report on the potential impact of repetitive head trauma on jockeys.
“I don’t do anything anymore, these days I just sit at home watching TV and that’s the extent of my life,” he told News Corp.
“I know I have this conversation with you today. But come tomorrow, I think maybe this conversation happened a week ago.
Aussie jockey Daniel Pitomac (pictured with wife Kath Pitomac) has opened up about his terrifying health battle that is so severe that he barely leaves the house
Falls like this at Randwick in 2019 have left Hooper ‘very worried’ about his future as he struggles to just get to the shops
“Or in an hour I may remember talking to you, but I won’t remember what I actually said to you.
“I am very worried about my future. I am tired, always tired.
“I’m not myself anymore.”
Pitomac, who is married to jockey Kath Pitomac, has not raced since 2019 and now says he finds it difficult to complete the most basic of tasks.
‘Jockeys are quite sociable, there’s no real fear in them. But these days I go full out to the shops.
“I try to stay home all the time, I’m really insecure around people. If I ever go out, it’s with my wife or my best friend.
“I could handle that, as long as they don’t leave me.
Pitomac, who is married to jockey Kath Pitomac, has not raced since 2019 and now says he finds it difficult to complete the most basic of tasks
“But if they do go to the toilet, I have to be with them.”
Awareness about the long-term effects of concussions has increased recently, with the NRL introducing new concussion protocols and the AFL being hit by a class action of more than 60 former players who say they suffer the effects of a head injury.
Pitomac says he’s taken numerous headbutts, but his worst was when he fell into the barriers at Wellington.
“I was in the barriers and the horse just took off, I don’t really remember it all,” Pitomac said.
“I thought I got off the horse and ran off, but apparently I got dragged out of the fences because I blacked out.
“The ambulance team wanted to take me to hospital, but I had such a concussion that I initially refused to go because I wanted to be in the next race.
“The problem with a concussion is that you don’t break your arm – when your arm is in a cast, everyone knows it’s broken.
Pitomac says he’s taken numerous headbutts, but his worst was when he fell into the barriers at Wellington
Concussion is much more difficult for people to understand.
“I have headaches all the time, memory loss, balance and coordination problems.
“Bright lights worry me. I have a huge problem staying asleep, I probably wake up 10 times a night.’
Pitomac’s neurologist says it’s possible he has CTE from all the trauma he’s suffered from racing.
CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a neurodegenerative disease that can affect athletes who endure repeated concussions and head bumps during their careers in contact sports such as rugby league, martial arts and American football.
Pitomac has read about it and says it’s “virtually a death sentence,” so he wants more to be done to train jockeys.
“It’s a tricky subject, but I’d like to see the racing industry dig deeper into these issues,” he says.
“And if telling my story helps another jockey take better care of themselves, it makes me happy.”