An interesting read on the experiences of female jockeys in racing.
Sad but true. I love Rosie, and was disappointed but understood when she retired. I think she could have been one of the all time greats. HOF for sure.
It is disgraceful that a young male jockey can go into a barn and look for rides without having to worry if the trainer is going to ask for a *&% >$! in trade. And absolutely when a new young female apprentice arrives on the scene the discussion always veers toward her physical appearance etc (with etc meaning straight to the gutter). It’s just a disgrace.
This is a bit of a broad statement. My sisters galloped horses in the early 70s, Starting in maybe 69-70. One of them for Sonny Hine. Who was very old school, Green Beret (special forces) in Vietnam. She got her jocks licence in 72ish and road some races for him. When I worked on the track in the 70s there were lots of women working there. Grooming and or getting on horses. I’m not saying there is not BS going on. But IME it is more the exception then the rule. A number of women rode our horses in races. Have the win pictures.
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Not broad at all. The article discussed the challenges of women jockeys breaking into the sport, and my comment was specifically about women jockeys. I very specifically referenced Rosie and used the words “jockey” and “apprentice.” If you choose to apply what I said to grooms, exercise riders and women in general on the backstretch then you are certainly taking liberties with my statements. Are you a journalist perhaps? Dana Barnes has been with Baffert for decades and gets on his top horses regularly. Women routinely work as assistants, foremen (ha) and exercise riders for top outfits. It’s just when they try to ride races that the gender bias seems to assert itself and things get ugly for them.
