Female jockey legends Rubin, Cooksey and Russ (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Eight retired champion female jockeys will mount up and line up in the starting gate at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course on Friday, May 14th, for race #4 on Black Eyed Susan Day.
The $30,000 race, scheduled for a 1:45 p.m. (ET) post time, will benefit breast cancer research through a partnership between Pimlico Race Course and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity. The race, held for the first time this year, is labeled “Lady Legends for the Cure.”
A recognized pari-mutuel race, the six-furlong (.75-mile) Lady Legends for the Cure will feature pioneer female jockeys from thoroughbred horse racing, ranging in age from 43 to 60. The seasoned lady jockeys will ride thoroughbreds, three years old and upward.
The Ladies Legends for the Cure race is part of the festivities leading up to the May 15th Preakness Stakes at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course.
Two of the participating jockeys, Patricia J. Cooksey and Mary Wiley Wagner, are breast cancer survivors. In fact, Mary Wiley Wagner completed her last chemotherapy treatment less than six months ago.
“I can’t wait to see the ladies and spend time together. I know it will be very competitive,” Cooksey said (in a Susan G. Komen for the Cure statement). “Racing needs to be creative and this is a unique event. Barbara Jo Rubin was an original trail blazer, and Pimlico is going above and beyond to recognize the pioneers who made it easier for me. Teaming up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure is close to my heart and gives us an opportunity to get the word out on breast cancer. Being a survivor touches me in a lot more ways than other people.”
Here’s the line-up for the six-furlong Lady Legends for the Cure race at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course on May 14th, featuring legendary lady jockeys of the past:
- Patricia J. Cooksey (52) – third all-time leading female jockey (2,137 wins from 1979 to 2004) and first female jockey to compete in the Preakness Stakes race (1985) – riding Cleric from post position #2.
- Gwen Jocson (43) – all-time record holder for the most wins in a single year by a female jockey (racing from 1989 to 1999) – riding Honor in Peace from post position #3.
- Andrea Seefeldt Knight (47) – Kentucky Derby and Preakness jockey (racing from 1981 to 1994) – riding Chapel of Love from post position #7.
- Barbara Jo Rubin (60) – the first female jockey to win against a male jockey at a recognized racetrack (racing from 1969 to 1970) – riding Brogue from post position #6.
- Jennifer Rowland Small (57) – top pioneer female rider on the Maryland Circuit (1971 to 1977) – riding Temperance Time from post position #1.
- Mary Russ Tortora (56) – first female jockey to win a Grade 1 stakes race (racing from 1980 to 1994) – riding Tortora from post position #5.
- Mary Wiley Wagner (46) – 1983’s top 5 apprentice jockey in the nation (racing from 1983 to 1997) – riding Mass Destruction from post position #4.
- Cheryl White (56) – first African-American female jockey (racing from 1971 to 1999) – riding Agave Ridge from post position #8.
The Lady Legends for the Cure Race at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course in Friday, May 14th, which will be televised live on HRTV, will also be filmed as part of an upcoming feature-length documentary film about female jockeys, titled Jock.
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