Maybe I am a little naive, but I thought that the weight that was announced to the public is the weight that the horse carries in a race.

Granted there have recently (and probably not so recently) been issues about monkey business, but I was just reading the DRF and an author cavalierly mentioned that the weight announced to the crowd does not include things like helmets and vests (and any other safety equipement used by jocks).

Can weight of this equipment vary from Jockey to Jockey? If it does, I sure feel like a chump as I put a lot of stock in weight and assume that the tracks announce the truth. I do not begrudge jockeys safety equipment. They should have as much as they want. I just think those of us betting on them are entitled to know exactly what weight the horse is carrying.

Here is the link

http://www.drf.com/news/article/62787.html