A week that began with the shock retirement of Rachael Blackmore, perhaps the most significant female figure to ever ride a racehorse, might end with a different kind of landmark success for another woman on the other side of the Atlantic.
At a minute after midnight tomorrow, English jockey Saffie Osborne rides Heart of Honor in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the US Triple Crown, at Pimlico in Baltimore. It is the 150th Preakness. No woman has ever ridden the winner before.
Julie Krone is the only woman to ever ride a US Triple Crown race winner, all of 32 years ago on Colonial Affair in the Belmont. It was a pioneering accomplishment, but not transformative as many hoped. The job of professional jockey in the US remains overwhelmingly male.
That isn’t the case in other racing jurisdictions around the world. Nearly half of New Zealand‘s professional jockeys are women. Emma-Jayne Wilson is Canada’s most successful rider. But closer to home the jockey’s room remains largely a male preserve.
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There’s no contradiction in pointing that out and acknowledging the emergence of a much more encouraging picture for female jockeys in the past decade.
Blackmore’s trailblazing career has reframed perceptions of women riding over obstacles. Never again can tired old stereotypes about the life of a professional jump jockey being too tough for women get trotted out. Blackmore personified resilience as well as brilliance.
On the flat, Hollie Doyle is one of Britain’s most recognisable riders. Last weekend she became the most successful female jockey in British racing history when reaching 1,023 winners there. Her most high-profile victory came in the 2022 French Oaks aboard Nashwa.
Osborne’s presence alone in the Preakness underlines a very different professional reality for women riders compared to not so very long ago. The significance of what she might achieve is attention grabbing. But her ability to perform on such a high-profile stage isn’t an issue.
At 23, Osborne is still at the early stages of her career. Like any other young rider, the scale of what she might achieve could come down to getting on enough good horses to showcase her talents.
The impact of a major victory such as a Preakness might propel an already polished professional to a new level. Once there, the evidence from Blackmore’s career is that there can be no limit to where momentum takes you.
How Blackmore has been such a singular presence is underlined by the struggles of other female riders. She really is the exception that proves the rule in Ireland. Outright prejudice mightn’t prevail any more, but old habits still flourish.
With estimates of more than half of all stable staff being women, the paltry number of female riders is woefully out of whack.
Siobhan Rutledge was the only woman in the top 40 Irish flat riders last year with seven winners. She’s now trying her luck in Australia. Apart from Blackmore, the most successful rider over jumps was the amateur, Jody Townend.
It’s true that Blackmore has cracked the glass ceiling forever. But presumptions that it is in smithereens smack of complacency.
With her pioneering example, the odds are that eventually Irish racing will see another woman feature at the top of the tree, either on the flat or over jumps. Except that “eventually” can be a very long time. It is in the sport’s self-interest to try and make it sooner rather than later.
The usual line is how racing is the one sport where male and female compete on an equal footing. It allows the sport to feel satisfied with itself, particularly with figures such as Blackmore and Doyle who succeed on a level playing field despite the obstacles put in front of them.
But they are outliers, exceptions that prove the rule about the difficulty female jockeys face in securing the vital initial opportunities required to exhibit their talents and potential in the first place.
No one’s saying it’s straightforward for young male riders either. But old habits die hard, and young female jockeys still must overcome conventional thinking that mightn’t be actual prejudice but still smacks of bias.
It is interesting to note then how French racing quietly persists with its 2017 policy of weight allowances for female riders in order to try to increase opportunities for them.
It prompted predictable outrage and charges of sexism when introduced, although noticeably more outside France than in. Within a year though, there was a 165 per cent increase in the number of wins by female jockeys. The number of rides taken by women had doubled.
One of the beneficiaries has been Marie Velon who started her career in 2017. Last year she made the top 10 on the French jockeys’ table. Four places behind her was Maryline Eon. Velon’s success also includes Group One glory with Iresine where no allowances are in place.
This is cultural and behavioural change. More has been achieved with concrete efforts to level the playing field than by any amount of posturing. The contrast with Ireland now that Blackmore is retired is stark.
There’s currently a tide in the affairs of women in racing which can lead to fortune. But it should and can be hurried up. Examining the feasibility of implementing the French model here, in the hope of changing habits, could work out to everyone’s benefit.
Something for the Weekend
Light as Air (5.00) is a half-brother to the Leger hero Continuous. He holds an Irish Derby and if that’s realistic he should be a major player in a Navan handicap tomorrow off a mark of 86. His first run of the year at Leopardstown was luckless and eye catching.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ballydoyle team’s Ides of March (1.25) can lift a Newbury listed contest if not repeating the tardy starts of his last two races.
