Early Female Jockeys: Racing’s Forgotten Pioneers
With this being the 50th anniversary of Ruffian’s unforgettable 3-year-old campaign and artist Lisa Palombo’s much-anticipated art exhibition on famous fillies opening in Saratoga at the end of the month, this indeed is the year to honor our equine female heroes. But we must also pay tribute to a small group of dedicated and passionate young women who, against all odds, changed the face of racing. ~ Steve Haskin
Early Female Jockeys, Racing’s Forgotten Pioneers
By Steve Haskin
There would be no sense in starting this column by chronicling the success of female jockeys over the years, as it would take up the entire column. With so many stars in this year’s Triple Crown, have any of them been the subject of more features than British jockey Saffie Osborne, who rode Heart of Honor in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes?
Briefly, we have had female jockeys win the Belmont Stakes, two Breeders’ Cup races, sweep the once prestigious Filly Triple Crown, and win iconic Grade 1 stakes such as the Santa Anita Handicap, Kentucky Oaks, Hollywood Gold Cup, Pacific Classic, the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, and Australia’s biggest race, the Melbourne Cup. This year, British-born Rachel King became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 flat race in Japan.
If there is one thing all these successful jockeys have in common it is the gratitude they owe the handful of horse-loving young women back in the late 1960s who had to overcome numerous roadblocks, discrimination, threats, boycotts, and poor makeshift facilities to pursue their dreams. Their determination was fueled by their deep love of horses and riding and a competitive spirit that was being suppressed by the prejudice of a still male-dominated society.
The intensity of their determination and their overwhelming love of horses had to that point in the past only been displayed in fictionalized form, when Velvet Brown, played by Elizabeth Taylor in the movie National Velvet, was unwavering in her pursuit to ride her beloved The Piee in the Grand National Steeplechase.
The resolute young ladies who are the subject of this column were realistic enough not to dream that high in the beginning. Just getting on the back of a Thoroughbred, breaking from a starting gate, feeling that speed and power under them, and being one with the horse was what drove them, even If it was in a cheap claiming race at a small track.
Female Jockey Pioneer Kathy Kusner
But since Velvet Brown planted the seed in the hearts and minds of young horse lovers, her fairy tale story still was just that until 1967 when a 27-year-old Olympic equestrian medal winner named Kathy Kusner applied for a jockey’s license in the State of Maryland. She never even thought about the obstacles of being a woman. She just applied because she wanted to be a jockey and wasn’t prepared for her request being denied by the Maryland Racing Commission. Here she was an accomplished international equestrian rider, helping the United States team win a gold medal in the 1963 Pan-Am Games and a silver medal in the 1964 Olympics, and she was being denied a jockey’s license simply because she was a woman. She hired a lawyer and took her case to court, filing a law suit against the commission for discrimination due to gender. The judge ruled in her favor and in October, 1968 she became the first licensed female jockey in the United States.
Kusner did ride in non-sanctioned races along the East Coast and in a number of countries around the world and went on to further Olympic glory.
Kathy Kusner, the first licensed woman jockey as well as a United States equestrian Olympic medalist.
One of the first women to take advantage of Kusner being granted a jockey’s license to was 21-year-old Diane Crump, from Milford, Connecticut, who had begun working with Thoroughbreds at age 13. By the time she was in high school, she said to herself, “If those babies from the farm are going to the racetrack, I’m going with them.” So she eventually began getting on horses in the morning at Tampa Bay Downs while attending night school. There was only one other girl there who was galloping horses and that was Mary Bacon, who would one day also become a well-known jockey.
When Crump attempted to ride at Hialeah there was so much hostility directed toward her she had to be given a police escort getting through the crowd. Shouts of “Go back to the kitchen and cook dinner” became a familiar sound. She couldn’t believe something like this could happen in the 1960s.
But on February 7, 1969, Crump became the first female jockey to ride in a pari-mutuel race, finishing 10th aboard Bridle ‘n Bit. The barrier had been broken.
Then on February 22, only 15 days after Crump’s historic ride, Barbara Jo Rubin became the first female jockey to win a pari-mutuel race when she scored aboard Cohesian at Charles Town. On March 2, Tuesdee Testa, who the year before was the regular exercise rider for the great filly Dark Mirage, won the first race by a female jockey at a major track when she captured the third race at Santa Anita on Buz On..
As several more female jockeys appeared, the more hostility they encountered from the male riders. Crump was even asked by Churchill Downs management not to ride there to avoid any controversy due to the protests of the jockey colony. When another female, Penny Ann Early, had attempted to ride there, the jockeys threatened to boycott.
Diane Crump at Churchill Downs in 1970. Crump would become the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby.
The Jockeys’ Guild issued a statement expressing their concerns about females competing against males and stated their reasons why they were opposed to it. Nick Jemas, the Guild’s national managing director at the time and a former jockey himself, said in the statement regarding their skill and cool judgment in a race, “A woman’s emotional makeup might betray her at a time like that. It could also imperil the lives of the other jockeys, not to mention her own.” That’s when he added, If a female jockey entered a race, the male jockeys would stage a boycott
In 1991, I had the honor and privilege of talking in depth with both Crump and Rubin together, as well as another pioneer Robyn Smith. They were able to look back and talk about those early days and the obstacles they encountered.
Jockey Barbara Jo Rubin
Rubin began riding when she was 6 and was competing in match races at age 10. She was one of those who caught the bug after watching National Velvet. She had turned to sports on her doctor’s advice after suffering from a mild case of polio and riding horses helped her get her strength back while doing something she loved. As soon as she graduated from high school she headed to the racetrack, galloping horses for free at Tropical Park.
She obtained her jockey’s license in January, 1969 at the urging of trainer Bryan Webb, but when she made her debut aboard the Webb-trained Stoneland, a group of male jockeys protested and once again threatened to boycott the track should Rubin be allowed to ride. The pressure forced her to withdraw from the race.
“I really felt it was inevitable that they would have to let us ride if we stuck it out,” Rubin recalled. “Of course, then Kathy Kusner went to court, and once she did that and they ruled no one could stop her from getting a license, that was our big break.”
But they still had to fight in their own states. Rubin and Crump had to go before the Florida Racing Commission and wait three to four months, and then go to the Civil Liberties Union and fight with them, They put them through more tests and the stewards had to see them break through the gate and how they looked working a horse.
Although males did not have to go through all that, Rubin and Crump had one solution. “Just go out and beat the boys,” Rubin said. Crump agreed, “Just outdo them,” she added. “Then they couldn’t stop us. We deserved it. We definitely paid our dues. I was galloping horses at Churchill Downs when Kathy won her case. Penny Ann Early and I were both there and I wanted to ride in Kentucky, but that’s when the riders boycotted Penny.”
When Rubin went to Tropical Park and applied for a license they told her she was crazy and wouldn’t even accept her application, so she had to go before the board to plead her case. When she finally was granted a license and was ready to ride she had to change in the stewards’ closet, and when able to, the men’s room.
Then she was boycotted as well. She was going to ride anyway even if it was a walkover, but when the jocks boycotted two races before, the stewards were forced to take her off the horse.
“They were pretty irate about me riding,” Rubin said. “They had given me a little trailer to dress in, and they threw a rock through my window.”
Crump was having an easier time at Hialeah, thanks to the support of trainer Mary Cotter, who went to bat for her and was guaranteed by the stewards that this wasn’t Tropical Park. Crump had to break a horse out of the gate and work him six furlongs in company. She was granted her license, but every time Cotter entered a horse for her to ride it didn’t get in. Then one morning she woke up to find she had been named on a horse by someone she had never heard of. It seems this trainer had heard of the girls’ plight and felt badly for them and gave Crump the mount. It was there on February 7, she became the first female to ride at a sanctioned American racetrack.
As for Rubin, following the boycott at Tropical she received an invitation to ride in Jamaica and said she had a wonderful time. She and Crump eventually went down to Venezuela to ride and were “treated great and given presents.”
In America, it was tough getting mounts, and even when they did, the horses they rode usually were huge longshots. “Nobody wanted to give me a shot,” Crump said. “If you were with an outfit and got on all their horses and did all the work, then they trusted you. Other than that, you only rode horses nobody else wanted to ride.” Rubin added, “And then you had to get lucky. We were sort of an oddity back then and a lot of trainers didn’t think we were strong enough. But someone with horsemanship and good hands is going to be better than someone with strength.”
Rubin, still believing she could compete with males on a big stage, made a bold move by heading to Aqueduct in 1969, where she became the first female jockey to win at the country’s most prestigious circuit, When she won again shortly after, she was invited to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show on March 16. “The American sports world congratulates you,” Sullivan said to the soft-spoken 19-year-old who seemed overwhelmed by the experience. “He told her, “Newspapers all over the world are headlining that you won twice at Aqueduct.” Then turning to the audience, he said, “Let’s hear your applause for a most remarkable young lady.”
When Rubin and Crump arrived at Aqueduct, both said the one jockey who made life in New York easier for them was Angel Cordero. “He was the nicest one to me. He sort of initiated me and helped everybody to accept me. He was one of my best friends,” said Rubin.
Crump added, “He rode in my first race in New York and was always so supportive.”
Angel Cordero welcomes Barbara Jo Rubin to the Aqueduct jockey colony in 1969.
On March 20, less than two months after she became the first female to ride in a pari-mutuel race in America, Crump won her first race at Gulfstream Park. A year later she became the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th aboard Fathom.
Rubin and Crump both praised the tracks in Kentucky and Maryland for their hospitality, but even though Rubin had made history at Aqueduct, they both said the crowds there could get difficult. “That’s a place you want to forget,” Crump said. “I think Tuesdee Testa quit riding because of that. She said she quit because she couldn’t take the abuse.”
Rubin added, “Yeah, they could get pretty rowdy. I would never pay attention to them. I would just smile and do my own thing. I was having a good time doing what I loved to do.
A short time later came racing’s first female rock star, Robyn Smith, whose early life was entangled in mystery, with nothing in her resume able to be validated. An ex-model, Smith came straight to New York from northern California with $50 in her pocket in 1970 and shared an apartment with an airline stewardess.
Smith had been riding at Golden Gate along with fellow female riders Toni Brown and Shelly McArthur, and experienced some rough riding by the male jockeys. They had to shower in the dark and only after all the other riders had left.
Jockey Robyn Smith graces the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in July, 1972.
By 1972 Smith had her picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated accompanied by a full-length feature.
She would become the first female jockey to win a stakes when she captured the Grade 3 Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct aboard Alfred Vanderbilt’s North Sea on March 1, 1973. She also was the first female to ride at historic Saratoga Race Course, and in 1980, at age 35, she married legendary entertainer Fred Astaire, who was 81.
Although she admitted she never encountered the problems in New York her predecessors faced, she still had to change in makeshift trailers or in the infirmary and bathe out of buckets. But she was determined to make it big in New York.
“I decided I was either going to do it first class or I wasn’t going to do it at all,” she said, “I would get up at 3 every morning and was out at the track by 4 before anyone got there. I could never get an agent, so it was never easy for me getting mounts. But I’ve always gotten along with men and I was treated well by the other jockeys.”
She struggled for a year and a half until the legendary trainer Allen Jerkens, who was known for giving young riders a break, began putting her on “live” mounts. “I give Allen credit for helping me the most. He was the first to give me horses with a chance to win,” she said.
One day, while standing by the paddock, she was approached by then New York Racing Association president Alfred Vanderbilt. After talking for a while, he asked her to ride one of his horses. That was the beginning of a long relationship, in which Smith rode Vanderbilt’s top sprinter North Sea to victory in the Paumonok and Grade 2 Westchester Handicap.
“He was a real gentleman,” Smith said. “Racing needs people like Alfred Vanderbilt.” After marrying Astaire she found a new life flying airplanes and helicopters. But even years later she said, “I miss racing so much.”
During this time we saw Cheryl White break the color barrier, becoming the first African American female jockey. Licensed in 1970 at Thistledown in Ohio at the age of 17, she won her first race on September 3, 1971 at Waterford Park in West Virginia. She retired in 1992 to become the first female to serve as a steward in the State of California.
Another of the pioneers was Patti Barton, who excelled mainly on the West Virginia circuit. Orphaned as a young child, she became the first female jockey to win 1,000 races, but was forced to retire in 1984 at the age of 39 after suffering a horrific injury in a spill at Fairmount Park, fracturing her vertebrae, ribs, collarbone, and jaw. However, she left quite a legacy, as her two daughters, Donna and Leah, and her son Jerry all became jockeys, with Donna competing at the highest level, winning over a dozen major stakes, a number of them for Wayne Lukas, for whom she won stakes aboard future champions Golden Attraction and Boston Harbor, as well as Hennessy, on whom she finished second, beaten a neck, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. After retiring she became a familiar face on NBC as a racing analyst, especially during the Triple Crown, interviewing winning jockeys on horseback following the race.
By 1974, Suffolk Downs alone had no less than a half-dozen female riders in its jockey colony and they were able to form a very close-knit family who were supportive of each other. Even the male jockeys as a whole came to respect them because of their ability, according to Paddy Head, who rode for almost 20 years before retiring to become an author. The women also made their voice heard when one of them, Susie Fye, took the racing commission to court to remove the age cap on apprentice riders and won her case.
Another of the Suffolk Downs jockeys, Joan O’Shea, had been a pioneer in Canada, becoming the first female rider to win a race in Ontario in November, 1970. She inspired Head, a fellow Canadian, to become a jockey.
Perhaps the best known of the Suffolk Downs riders was Denise Boudrot, who became known as the “Longshot Lady” as an apprentice, winning the 1974 fall meet riding title and riding five winners on a single card. She would become a “big sister” to future top New England riders such as Tammi Piermarini and Abby Fuller.
Several of these early pioneers are still alive, some in their 80s, including Robyn Smith. “I don’t know if they even remember me in New York,” Smith said back in 1991. “Whenever I see write-ups and interviews on women riders, no one ever mentions that Robyn Smith was here first. I’d watch it and say, ‘Gosh, I think they forgot about me.’”
The same could be said about Diane Crump, Barbara Jo Rubin, Tuesdee Testa, Patti Barton, Kathy Kusner, Cheryl White, Penny Ann Early, and Mary Bacon. Many of these names are unfamiliar to the younger generation.
The foundation of female riders in America and around the world was laid by this small group of courageous, dedicated, and determined young women all bonded by their love of horses and the fortitude to overcome numerous barriers.
At a time when racing’s headliners were equine superstars such as Dr. Fager, Damascus, Arts and Letters, and Majestic Prince in 1968 and ’69, and the emergence of the legendary Secretariat in the early ‘70s, these remarkable women, some still in their teens, opened the door to new generations of aspiring jockeys, who now had heroes to emulate other than Velvet Brown.
Their names over the past half a century are too numerous to mention. Of course the big breakout star was Julie Krone, who, after breaking her maiden in a $3,500 claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs in 1981, not only became the first female jockey to win a classic, capturing the 1993 Belmont Stakes, and a Breeders’ Cup race, winning the Juvenile Fillies in 2003, she showed that women could not only compete with men at the highest level, but dominate them, which she did, especially in New Jersey, where she was virtually unbeatable in the late 1980s and shattered all records for female jockeys, eventually becoming the first to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Julie Krone wins the 1993 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.
The torch had been passed, and it was Krone who became the inspiration for many young aspiring jockeys. From that second wave of riders also came Mary Russ, who became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 stakes, capturing the 1982 Widener Handicap on Lord Darnley.
One of those jockeys from that era was winning machine Patti Cooksey, who in 1985 became the first female to ride in the Preakness, and was the leading rider at Turfway Park four times. Cooksey would go on to set the record for most wins by a female jockey with 2,137, which was eventually broken by Krone. She was also the second female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby and the first to win a $100,000 race in California. When she first went to Churchill Downs she had to change in a maid’s closet. One of the track officials, fearing she would not be given mounts, suggested she stopped going by the name Patricia and use her initials “P.J.” instead. She tried that, but when she walked in the paddock one day to ride for a trainer who was not familiar with her, she attempted to shake his hand and he backed off in shock, exclaiming, “You’re a girl!” She responded, “Yes sir, I’ve been that way for 24 years.”
Also in 1985, Abby Fuller swept the prestigious Filly Triple Crown, consisting of the one-mile Acorn, 1 1/8-mile Mother Goose, and 1 1/2-mile (originally 1 ¼ miles) Coaching Club American Oaks, aboard Mom’s Command, getting this brilliantly fast filly to carry her blazing speed the full mile and a half despite setting sprint-like factions. She would follow that up by adding the historic Alabama Stakes at 1 ¼ miles. Mom’s Command went on to become the overwhelming selection for 3-year-old Filly Champion and was elected to the Hall of Fame.
We could go on and on and discuss riders such as Rosie Napravnik, Chantal Sutherland, Jill Jellison, Tammi Piermarini, Emma-Jayne Wilson, Kristina McManigell, Rosie Higgins, Diane Nelson, Katie Davis, and so many more, but it would take a book to do so.
Diane Crump retired in 1984. She had a daughter in first grade and she didn’t feel she was being fair to her. “I had done everything I wanted and I felt pretty much fulfilled,” she said in 1991, “I had gotten a pretty good offer to run the training barn at Calumet Farm, so I decided to take it and give my daughter an opportunity to go to school in one place.”
Rubin gave up riding in 1970 due to an injury and attempted several comebacks unsucessfully. Although she never attained the fame and success of some of those who followed her, she said she accomplished everything she wanted. “I still get on the horses.” she said. I just love them. I’ll never get off them.”
Crump added, “I just loved the whole game. I loved it from the beginning to the end.”
When asked what was the major change she’s noticed in female jockeys compared to when she started, she replied, “Acceptance…from everybody.”
There is no doubt that Crump, Rubin, Smith and all the early pioneers were and still are the embodiment of Velvet Brown, and it could easily have been them who said Brown’s words in National Velvet:
“I think all the time about horses. All day and every night. I should like to race. I should like to have so many horses that I could walk down between the stalls and ride what I choose. Every day I pray to God to give me horses…wonderful horses.”
Photos courtesy of the Courier Journal, Frank Waters, Santa Anita Park, Sports Illustrated and Bob Coglianese/New York Racing Association.
Racing historian, author, and award-winning retired journalist for the Daily Racing Form and The Blood-Horse, Steve Haskin was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame’s Media Roll of Honor in 2016. Known for his racing knowledge and insightful prose, he has been an exclusive contributor to Secretariat.com since 2020.
I adored this. I did a paper at University of North Carolina on female jockeys in 1974 or 1975. There was no Internet, of course, but I scoured magazines for tidbits and Robyn Smith was my focal point as I did find more information on her than anyone else. I was delighted to see your in-depth coverage of the history of these women, who, like me loved their horses.
Sovereignty looks like about 2-5 in the Jim Dandy. But it feels a little like the Florida Derby when Sovereignty didn’t really need to win the race and wasn’t pushed to beat Tappan Street. Sovereignty was just prepping for the Derby.
The trouble is that I’m not in love with any of his four opponents on Saturday.
Baeza will be getting 4 pounds from Sovereignty after losing to him twice at equal weights. I like that Hector Berrios will be in town to ride. Flavien Prat might be busy on Nysos. IDK. Berrios guided Baeza to his only win back in February. However, Baeza(1 for 6, 16%) needs to prove to me that he isn’t a $1.2million version of Skinner(2 for 15, 13%).
I’ve never been a fan of Sandman. But he is 1 for 1 at Saratoga and Mark Casse has been going pretty well lately. His best races have been at Oaklawn, and in my best English, this ain’t Arkansas.
Mo Plex, a New York-bred, comes off his best race yet in ………………………..Cleveland?!?!?!
Hill Road, the Peter Pan winner, continues to improve. But will he ever be better than a Grade 3 winner? Grade 2 at best?
Bottom line: single Sovereignty as the free bingo square and hope that Bill Mott and Junior Alvarado having winning on their minds to keep up with Journalism’s win this past Saturday.
Sovereignty gets on them quick.
I guess Prat chose to come wear, to ride Nysos this Saturday…Hector Berrios to pilot Baeza, in the JD….Prat—in The Travers has Goal Oriented, who ran a terrific 3rd, in only his 4th lifetime race—should be prominent early—speaking of early foot….The Jim Dandy….where’s the speed?
Mo Plex looks a little speedy and prepped in Cleveland.
Thank you Steve for a fabulous article. Nobody does it better.
Yes, Medoro ! Such a great return for her today!
What do y’all think about Pacific Classic vs. Travers for Journalism?
Pacific Classic would be the logical placement. Sov shipped east for the Haskell because there was no race for him in Cal.
I meant Journalism shipped east…
The play is the PC. Why run him in Travers? He raced three times in five weeks. Only horse to run in all three.
Just 5 for the Jim Dandy. Sovereignty, Baeza, and Hill Road among them.
Raging Torrent is retiring with a suspensory injury.
He’s had a great career. I’m glad they made the decision, rather than trying to rest him and bring him back, where he could reinjure himself.
Yes. I’ll miss seeing him race. He was an exciting horse to watch.
Latest update from a Del Mar news release (via HRN) is that a decision to retire RT or rest him for a return to the track is pending.
My thoughts are with Starting Over.
Mine too, Mike. I just saw the news. We have had very few miracles lately.
Has anyone heard an update on Starting Over? I’m sure he must need/have had surgery. Could find nothing on Blood Horse or DRF about him.
A sustained run, from Journalism today—and a sustained roar, from the crowd thru the Monmouth Stretch, and gallop out….
Hip, hip, hooray for Journalism! What a finish!
Awesome performance!
Journalism rolls today.
Oh my! That was a nail-biter. The final fractions had a 12 2/5 final eighth, Journalism looked like he was 2 or 3 lengths back with a furlong to go. WOW!
Chart says J was 3 lengths behind with a furlong to go. So he ran the final eighth in less than 12 sec.
Umberto Rispoli comparing Journalism to a diesel was hilarious. “You’re just motoring and motoring, then he finally takes off.” His stride just gets longer and longer in the clear in the stretch. A joy to watch today!
I misread. He was only a length behind at the furlong pole.
I love the way he did that. He’s done it to every horse he’s faced this year, except Sovereignty.
This is what a real racehorse looks like.
100%!
Every BB horse he’s faced lost.
In 8 two-turn races only one hirsehas finished in front of him…
Hey Matthew! My mistake.
Congratulations Minnie Hauk, Coolmore, Aiden and Ryan on winning the Irish Oaks.
Fast becoming one of my favorite fillies.
By Frankel out of Multilingual (Dansili). Goes back to Secretariat via her granddam
Yes, and it was her SECOND Oaks victory this year. It will be interesting to see where she races next.
David, Romeo worked today – nice and easy, looking good!
DRF claims that Opening Day tickets at Del Mar today cost $70. That’s wrong. I just checked the Del Mar site and they cost $73. Yikes!!!! To get into a racetrack where you will likely be wagering your money and spending money on over-priced food and libations? I would have to take a pass-a-dena on that.
I have clearly out lived my usefulness.
If Del Mar costs $73, I’m afraid to ask what Saratoga costs.
Cost $8 to see Flightline, and they had a few empty $40 seats, and I got one, no charge
I think the huge charge is just for opening day? It was still $8 last year…(general admission)..
“take a pass-a-dena”–good one!
I agree with you–that sounds exorbitant, especially since people need to save a few bucks for their wagering!
Steve, this is such a good one! I definitely idolized Julie Krone. It was great to read the stories of the women who paved the way for her. It’s hard to believe that the female riders were celebrated in Jamaica and Venezuela, and undermined at home. These were brave women, resilient and resolute! Many, many thanks to them for paving the way.
Mantra received: good horsemanship and good hands can outperform strength. Namaste, big sisters and Steve!
Thanks Steve, I’ve just had time to fully read your column. The US lacks behind the UK and Australia in the number of professional female jockeys. There are 63 professional female jockeys in the UK and over 140 in Australia.
Nonetheless, there are only 11 female jockeys ever to win Group 1 races in Australia and two of those were New Zealanders.
I really enjoyed this article. Thank you for writing about the early female jockeys. I remember when Jane Driggers rode at Longacres. The girl jockey was definitely an oddity. Not that many years later, Vicki Aragorn (Baze) was riding at Longacres and showing the boys how it was done.
Vicky Aragon….was one of the all time best female riders, back then—they didn’t get many chances, Vicky (Bazr) Aragon was real good….
Remember the time she wacked that other Joc
Not only Longacres, but she did well in the Bay area too.
*whacked
Steve, thank you very much for showcasing the first female jockeys in American racing.
Most of these accomplished women were from my generation. Their determination and grit to achieve success overcoming so many obstacles is to be admired and applauded.
The first woman to compete in the Olymics Dressage was Liz Hartel who competed in the Helsinki Games in 1952 and won the silver meda thus making her the first woman to medal in Olympics Equestrian.
She had different obstacles to overcome from American jockeys. She was stricken with polio when she was younger and worked hard to strengthen her muscles. She did need assistance mounting and dismounting her horse.
I just watched The 1973 Man O War Stakes, Secretariat’s first turf try—a Gr1……Ron got him out of there in 5th, they got the feel of the turf—then Ron pointed his big red steed to the front—a knuckleheads like me, would say—“that’s the wrong way to ride turf, you want to settle, and make that one big run…”…but Secretariat wasn’t that ‘normal” type of horse, he took them all the way in a gallop……I was 14, when this thick red horse did things you did not see, before or since….
Man o’War would argue that. ….he’s the GOAT, IMO
He’d be wrong.
He would not…
It’s just one of those debates that no one can ever prove, so…
Agreed.
Disco, my response below intended for your comment.
Steve, you should have gone on to discuss Rosie Napravnik. She’s the best female jockey of all time.
I would also have liked an Inez Karlsson mention.
It’s probably not the best idea to question what Steve writes about.
Just my opinion.
DTG, agreed.
Why? This section is for comments to the article: yours, mine, Clownskill’s.
Roberta, it’s kinda like a private attempting to pull rank on a General.
Mike, it’s nothing like that.
Mikes just mad because he got kicked off all the other racing sites where you can post comments.
He is good for the occasional horsey-visit story. You probably don’t even have to ask, he has one holstered at all times.
Didn’t you once state you would eat horse meat?
Seems my visits rub you the wrong way. Guess one would have to care first to understand.
Early female jockeys yes but in the 19th Century under male pseudonym!!
Although female jockeys weren’t awarded official licenses to ride in races in Australia until 1979 there were other means to do so.
Elizabeth “Mother” Berry, Berry is her married name by the way, rode under the name Jack Williams. Berry (Williams), who was born in Melbourne in 1854, won her first race at Moonee Valley at the age of 10. Under the name Jack Williams, Berry rode and won races around the world – England, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
Berry, under the name Williams, won races in Northern California. But that is not all, Berry married a veterinarian named ‘Doc’ Berry in 1903 in Seattle and, after 24 years and winning 4,200 races as a jockey, Berry also became a horse trainer.
Another Australian female jockey who rode under a pseudonym was Wilhelmina Smith born in 1887. Wilhelmina under the name, Bill Smith. Apparently, very reclusive, Wilhelmina wasn’t discovered as a man until after her death.
How these women disguised themselves as male jockeys is another story. One can only suspect they dressed as dandies of the Renaissance did with the addition of a ‘codpiece’. Fascinating story, larger than life.
Davids, very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Lynda, I only found out about the above female jockeys last year when a website had a special on the history of female jockeys in Australia.
It’s hard to imagine how they succeeded in the all male environment, one can only but be impressed and inspired.
Tuesday Testa was the star who might have been. She was the regular exercise rider for the brilliant filly Dark Mirage, and according to something I’d run across while putting together Dark Mirage’s story for my book on the Kentucky Oaks, Testa and the “Tiny Tigress” got on so well that trainer Everett King was seriously considering putting Testa up on Dark Mirage in a stakes race in 1969. Sadly, Dark Mirage didn’t last long enough for King to make the experiment; she dislocated a fetlock in her second start of the year and had to be euthanized later that year due to complications of the initial injury. A major win by Testa on a horse of such national prominence might have made a significant difference both for Testa’s pioneering riding career and for female jockeys in general
Great post, Avalyn. Dark Mirage is one of my favorite horses, but until this column I hadn’t heard of Tuesday Testa. (What a great name!)
Journalism’s mama, Mopotism, died today due to complications from colic 😢😢😢
Yes, I just read that. So sad. She was only 11!
He was her first foal 😢
She’s left an Into Mischief yearling and a Flightline foal😢😢😢
The IM filly was withdrawn today from the Saratoga sale
They probably want to retain the female lineage…
They do….same with the foal; they’re taking some consolation that the last two foals were fillies 🥺🥺
Betsy, also a Tapit colt who is a 2 year old now, named Nitro Tap. Sold at the Saratoga sales last year for 1.5 million. Watch out for him.
I will, David!
I’m getting so antsy about Romeo, lol
As a little girl rooting Robyn Smith on, she pretty much broke my heart when she married Astaire and quit riding. I became aware of Vicky Aragon on the Longacres scene and I had a new role model.
Rachel Blackmore won the Grand National on Minella Times in 2021. 🙂
Steve, you and a few of your blog followers were fortunate to see the 1967 Woodward, featuring three all-time greats,probably the only such Horse Race…..I WAS around, for the 1979 Jockey Club Gold Cup, where Affirmed beat Spectacular Bid, at 12 furlongs—I was rooting for Affirmed, he was my favorite Thorpughbred, after Ancient Title retired, and the next year when I saw Spectacular Bid up close, I thought he was the best I ever had seen, and ever would see…..
But Affirmed was my favorite, as a four year old he was even better—by the Fall he was an all time great—only recently was I able to view the CBS telecast of the race, and it was terrific! Jack Whittacre, Frank Wright and Charlsie Canty, with cameras at the two owners booths, as well as commentary from Angel Cordero and Jorge Velasquez…..Belmont was thick, with anticipation, and when the Gare opened, Affirmed shot out of there, while Bod was a step slow….Angel said “and THAT was the race!”….:25 flat first quarter! Shoe (on Bid) made a run on Affirmed, but his jockey Laffit Pincay kept him wide and fender them off, and then Laffit made a decision to keep going g wide, with Affirmed, and Sho was “forced” to go in between them and Coastal–(Coastal was a top tier 12 furlong talent)…Affirmedfended off Bod, and those were two GREAT HORSRS!….In the winner’s circle with Laffit—I saw little Laffit, and his mom Linda Pincay (Radkovich), who was fated for a very tragic suicide….the race is on You Tube, and it was the last time two all time greats were matched—I was so impressed with Specracular Bid, the next year—until Flightline, I had not seen a horse I xould compare to him, for a time I thought Easy Goer might be one—but before Flightline, I would say “take the 12 best horses since Bid…put them together and throw in Bid….and he’s even money! Affirmed—-beat him, scale weights 11 furlongs, with a great ride….Affirmed also defeated another all time great—Alydar—many times….I don’t label a horse “great” very often….I think Sweet Azteca might be a GREAT filly sprinter, and she will be running at Saratoga, on Travers Day…I think Sovereignty could be the next great American horse, it’s early—but his Belmont was one terrific performance..
Thanks Matthew, I really enjoyed reading your post. I try not to compare great horses because, frankly, you are just guessing and everyone has their favorites.
I’ll say one thing about Flightline, I’ve never seen a racehorse that consistently won each race with such ease, from maiden race to the Breeders’ Cup Class.
Off layoffs! His first five races were at least 3 months apart, hus first four were 6 months apart….
The competition against Flightline was not as great as other “great” horses have faced, not close.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for celebrating the history of women jockeys. I watch women like Emma Jayne Wilson, Sofie Vives, Katie Davis and many of the women carving out careers in the smaller tracks across North America.
Back in the pioneer days, life as a woman jockey was rough, especially for the first few women like Kusner and Crump being boycotted. I had a closet as a jocks’ room when I rode my first few races at Blue Bonnets in Montreal. Then I went to Suffolk Downs where there were three other women and a real jocks’ room. I thought I was in heaven! The men weren’t too happy about another woman in the ranks and bounced me around like a ping pong ball. Finally, I had a mount named Bouncing Bessie, a big mare who would do anything I asked. We bounced a couple of guys off the rail and shut off a few (not dangerously just annoyingly) .Returning to the jocks room, the phone to the stewards stand was ringing. Denise Boudrot looked over at me. “I think that’s for you.” Dave Hicks greeted me with the comment that it looked like I had trouble out there. Try different equipment next time, he said.
I always appreciated Mr Hicks for his fairness.
Does anyone remember Sidney Underwood? She was the hot apprentice in my area in the early 90s. Won a lot of races, then struggled as a journeyman. In the later 90s, she was gathering momentum at Atlantic City, then was paralyzed in a spill. She trained for awhile then disappeared. I knew she was having a rough go with her condition, and a few weeks ago i looked online to see if she was even still alive. I found a long, fascinating interview from about 10 years ago. It’s kind of free form and all over the place, but full of interesting tidbits, especially since i’m familiar with all the players. It reveals her tough climb to modest success, her struggles, personal relationships with trainers, and no one is spared. She tells of two pretty successful male jockeys who were miserable and hated horses ( Rick Wilson and Jake (im sure she was referring to Nied). In my limited observations of those two, i think she nailed it. For anyone interested in a no holds barred look into the life of a female jockey, it’s worth a read.
Thanks Todd, I’ll follow your lead.
Glad to see that you finally wrote a column on jockeys, Steve. This piece on female riders is a gem. It brought up a lot of memories as I started as a serious player at Suffolk Downs in the early 70’s. Reading those names of Boudrot Piermarini, Jellison, Fuller, Nelson, et al, made me smile when I remembered that those girls offered good value for the mounts they had, and better yet, they could ride. I cashed many good tickets using them.
Lest we forget one name that brings a smile to many New England punters. Her name was Dodie Duys and will live on in legend for the incident in the ladies locker room when Dodie was “attacked” by fellow jock Carl Gambardella while she was showering after a race in which there was rough riding between the two. It made all the local newspapers and telecasts and everyone was talking about it for days. Gamby was embarassed as his wife gave him the “what for”, ha! ha1
A lot of good riders (boys and girls) came out of the New England circuit. It’s hard to believe that thoroughbred racing in New England has been dormant for eleven years now. Sigh!
Dewey, I wouldn’t like the chances of Carl Gambardella not going to jail these days. That incident is quite shocking.
Gamby was lucky that Dodie didn’t press charges. I guess she thought that if she did, she would receive even more repercussion from the guys. The incident stands out because Carl Gambardella was such a class act. He must must have been full of rage to lose control of himself.
Dewey, you are probably right. That she didn’t certainly reflects badly on how things were back then. Not just in horse racing either. The
I remember rooting for these pioneers– Kusner, Crump, and Rubin– as a horse-obsessed young woman myself.
It was barely a lifetime ago that women faced these obstacles. Keep up the fight.
This was pointed out on another site…Saratoga cards The Curlin, 9 fur durt for 3yo……two days before The Jim Dandy–9 fur dirt, 3yo…..
The Curlin is a conditioned stakes race, worth $135,000
Great piece Steve, I never understood the prejudices of our forefathers when throughout history when the chips were down and the wolf was at the door women stood and sacrificed and died in defense of their homes and countries. We would not be here without them!
A very informative piece. I highly enjoyed reading this.
You always out do yourself..
I wish we had more females jockeys out there riding.
I especially liked Julie Crone.
Robyn Smith was a pioneer, she deserves all the recognition in the world.
Thanks for posting.
I remember early in my racing life the few summers when Julie Krone absolutely owned Atlantic City, before going on to own Monmouth, then on to the big stage in New York. Julie was the female jockey who gave nothing to the men when it came to strength or aggression. Rosie Napravnik likely would have matched her had she continued riding. The mental strength of all the women riders is impressive. On the night Bill Shoemaker visited Atlantic City on his retirement tour, i took the program he had signed for me over to Julie Krone, who had come in for a couple mounts, and asked her to sign it. I’m not sure she liked me, but she signed. Her autograph includes a smiley face. So that program had ,at the time, the winningest riders of either sex. It may be one of a kind, and i still have it.
A broken-down Irish show jumping mare that I’d just come across on a walk one night. A lot of time and work and little healing together. Then, one golden day, I’d throw my heart over the fence, and we’d fly together. (My dream as a young girl.) 🙂 Ang
And speaking of early female jockeys…..I love old movies, and coincidently—today–National Velvet is on! I love that movie, a terrific win, by “Pie”—and a great ride by the “apprentice”, playedby Elizabeth Taylor (his trainer Mickey Rooney)…..alas, when they realized Pie was ridden by a girl….they DQ’d the horse! They must’ve had NYRA stewards, in 1940s England!….
Because of my love for that book (I still re-read it now and then and wrote a paper about it in graduate school!), I was over the moon when Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in 2021!
I have a copy of an early edition illustrated by Paul Brown, one of my favorite equine artists/illustrators. I used to cut out pictures of horses and take care of them just like Velvet did,
despite having my own pony and our family horses. I couldn’t get anyone to let me ride them for the 12 hours out of the day I’d have liked, so I kept various pretend herds for the times I couldn’t ride real horses.
I tried to read National Velvet to my daughter a few years ago, but it is one of the most quirkily written pony books in the cannon, and was hard as a read-aloud. The side stories about the sisters (the parakeet breeding!) and the wacky little brother still make me laugh out loud. It has its share of darkness, too, like when Velvet gets Sir Pericles and the other horses from the old gentleman. We will have to try it again soon. Maybe we can get through it now that she’s a little older.
The movie disappointed me as a kid because I love a black and white pinto/piebald, and the horse doesn’t look at all like The Pie! I also admit that I am detail oriented to a fault.
Great piece, Steve. I remember so many of these riders, but so rarely saw them in the big stakes of the day. It was great to hear there is more acceptance now for women in a tough, dangerous job.
I knew Cheryl White, she was very cordial—and Jane Driggers was beautiful…..I saw Robyn Smith and her beau Fred Astaire, at Santa Anita…..the female rider that I greatly respected was Karen Knapp, who rode in Oregon….and recently I was rooting for Joree Shriver, she took a bad fall, on New Years Day a few years ago and was parylized…..I teresting to see the picture of Cordero—and of the greatest female rider of them all—Julie Krone—they had a few fights, after a race—I recall when Julie threw him into the pool!….You did not mess, with Julie Krone….
Thank you for reminding us not only of these remarkable riders’ stories but of all the adversity they faced in order to do what they loved. What grit they showed.
Thank you Steve. Acceptance. What a beautiful word. I was waiting for you to mention Julie Krone, having just watched a bio of Cigar on YouTube where she was interviewed.