A name change was a game change for Patricia J. Cooksey. Women were still a bit of a novelty when she launched her jockey career in 1979 so at the suggestion of an associate, she was listed by her initials in the track program to imply she was a man. The rebranding was brilliant and trainers increasingly requested P.J. for their entrants.
Cooksey delights in telling stories about trainers' reactions to meeting her in the saddling paddock. One exclaimed, “Oh my god, you're a girl!” to which she replied something to the effect of, “Yes, I have been all my life.”
Another felt awkward giving her a leg up.
When she closed her career in 2004, she had accumulated 2,137 triumphs primarily on the Kentucky-Ohio-West Virginia circuit and briefly ranked as the top female rider before being overtaken by Julie Krone who holds the title with 3,704 wins.
Those who know her best still call her P.J. or Patti. Professionally she is listed as Patricia “PJ” Cooksey in her role as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Assistant Director of the Kentucky Breeders' Inventive Fund. She went to work for the organization three months after becoming restless in retirement. In her current role, she visits farms to ensure that resident broodmares are indeed living in Kentucky so their resulting foals can be registered for bonus state-bred money. She also is called upon to serve as a racing steward and Standardbred judge several times a year including a recent gig for Standardbred racing at county fairs.
“I have the best job in state government,” she said. “But I have never stopped missing race riding.”
Her most memorable moments include winning the 1983 Hollywood Prevue Stakes in Southern California on Kentucky-based So Vague in part because of the congratulatory hugs from idols Bill Shoemaker, Chris McCarron and other members of the extraordinary jockey colony. The following year So Vague became her only Kentucky Derby (G1) mount. In 1985 she became the first woman to ride in the Preakness Stakes (G1) when she piloted Tajawa. She notes that she has bragging rights that she “rode a Kentucky Derby winner” because she guided eventual Derby hero Monarchos in his career debut.
Cooksey at Turfway Park after her 1,203rd win
“The only reason I retired was because of the rod in my leg from my broken femur that was causing a lot of pain when I rode,” Cooksey said. “If I had known I could have gotten the rod removed, I might still be riding. I miss the camaraderie of my fellow riders. We were over-the-top competitive on the racetrack but family back at the jockeys' quarters. We used to have softball teams in the summer and bowling teams during the winter. Everyone would get together after the races for cookouts and drink beer and have a lot of fun back in the early days.”
The native of Youngstown, Ohio occasionally returns to the saddle. She has participated in the team penning fundraiser at the Kentucky Horse Park in which three riders separate designated steers from a small herd and she takes an annual extended trail ride in the Ozark Mountains with girlfriends that include ex-jockeys. She stays connected to other past colleagues in her work with Horses and Hope, an initiative that seeks to increase breast cancer awareness among Kentucky's horse industry.
In reinventing herself when her career concluded, Cooksey served as a racing commentator for Louisville television stations and ESPN on major race days with assignments that included reporting on horseback.
“It takes a lot of work and many hours to prepare for a show and although I thoroughly enjoyed working as a commentator, it just wasn't something I had a real passion for,” she said.
Of all her endeavors and accomplishments, Cooksey is most appreciative of her daughter with former husband John Neal, a longtime track-employed outrider. Despite her heritage, Chelsea Neal found her stride far from the equine world. With a degree in international relations, Chelsea has taught English in Spain, has been instrumental in establishing child-care facilities in Africa and currently works for God's Pantry.
Cooksey pitches in during a therapeutic riding session
“Chelsea was a very good rider and we did a lot of horse shows with her when she was younger, but I guess growing up as a racetrack kid she had enough of horses,” Cooksey said. “I am so proud of her servant's heart to always be striving to help others.”
Although her child found fulfillment elsewhere, Cooksey notes there are vast opportunities for employment in the Thoroughbred industry.
“My advice would be to start working at a farm and learn on the ground, 'in the trenches,'” she said. “There are many satisfying jobs available but it does take hard work, commitment and passion. It's definitely not for lazy people.”
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez enters Thursday's 10-race card at Belmont Park just one win shy of 2,000 at the historic track, more than any other rider in the facility's 115-year history.
The 48-year-old Velazquez, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2012, has won 6,237 career races and boasts seven Belmont riding titles [four at the spring/summer meet and three at the fall meet] to his credit.
“He has the ability to ride every type of race smartly,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “He's good on horses that have speed and on horses that come from behind. He's very accomplished on both dirt and turf. Any time you pile up the sort of numbers he's been able to accumulate, it also shows how consistent he is. To perform at such a high level for so long is very difficult, but it's a byproduct of his professional nature and his professional lifestyle on and off the racetrack. That's why he's been able to succeed for such a long time.”
Pletcher, who is 14 victories short of 5,000 for his storied career, has partnered with Velazquez for 1,819 of those wins, including 491 at Belmont of which 57 came in graded events.
Velazquez owns more career graded wins [680] than any other rider, with 170 captured at Belmont, a track Pletcher claims the veteran rider knows like the back of his hand.
“There's an advantage to being familiar with Belmont and the main track mile and a half oval and this has been his base for most of his career,” said Pletcher. “I think his familiarity and knowing how to ride Belmont is part of it, but he's simply just a complete rider wherever he goes, be it here, Dubai, Ascot or anywhere else.”
At closer inspection, it's safe to say Velazquez knows his way to the winner's circle at the Elmont oval.
He leads all riders with five wins in the prestigious Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile including scores with the Pletcher-trained Quality Road [2010] and Palace Malice [2014] as well as from Honour and Glory [1996], Sir Bear [1999] and Shackleford [2012].
The native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, secured his first of 200 career Grade 1 wins with a victory in the 1995 Turf Classic with Turk Passer at Belmont. He has won the event, now named the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, on more occasions than any other rider, including scores with eventual prominent sires Kitten's Joy [2004], Point of Entry [2012] and two with the Pletcher-conditioned English Channel [2006-07].
His talent with sprinters resulted in Velazquez capturing the Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational on three occasions, starting with the Pletcher-prepared Left Bank [2001], along with Henny Hughes [2006] and The Lumber Guy [2012].
Velazquez has also shown an ability at the highest level with young horses at Belmont guiding Pletcher trainees Scat Daddy [2006] and Uncle Mo [2010] to Champagne scores in their 2-year-old season. In addition, he called the shots for juvenile scores from Traitor [1996] and Lemon Drop Kid [1998] in the Futurity.
Velazquez has twice won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the traditional third leg of the Triple Crown, including with Union Rags in 2012 and in the 2007 edition where Rags to Riches provided Pletcher his first career Classic win while becoming the first filly to capture the “Test of the Champion” since 1905.
Rags to Riches, patiently piloted by Velazquez, overcame adversity and historic competition – including Grade 1-winning multimillionaires Tiago and Hard Spun – before prevailing by a head in a dramatic stretch duel with two-time Horse of the Year and eventual Hall of Famer Curlin.
“That race is a great example of just how great a rider he is,” said Pletcher. “First off, she went to her nose at the start and just staying on board was an accomplishment in its own right. To be able to recover and gradually let her regain position goes back to his knowing Belmont and knowing the circumference of the track and that you can't move too early.
“After that awkward start, he made every right decision that allowed her to recover along the way in a tight finish,” added Pletcher. “He's such a good finisher and so strong. To me, that race is a real tribute to his ability as a world-class jockey.”
Veteran trainer Rick Schosberg, a member of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) board of directors and the Chair of NYTHA's Aftercare Committee, has legged Velazquez up on 70 winners at Belmont Park dating back to May 1991 when Only Above captured a turf claiming route.
“I remember that mare well,” said Schosberg. “My wife and I bought the horse out of a training sale at Belmont Park for $8,500 way back at the beginning of my career.
“We've had such tremendous success together along the way,” continued Schosberg. “And he's obviously taken off to the Hall of Fame where he so richly deserves to be. In a way it came full circle.”
Last year, Schosberg was struggling to get New York-bred maiden winner Mary's Girl, owned by Schosberg in partnership with Clear Stars Stable, back to the winner's circle.
Following a pair of frustrating seconds in allowance company at Belmont, Schosberg asked Velazquez to take the reins in a state-bred allowance tilt at the Big A.
“We were struggling along last year trying to win a race here with Mary's Girl, a filly who loved to be second a lot. Johnny was available to ride her and she won easily,” said Schosberg of the smart three-length score on November 16. “Michael Geraghty, my partner with Clear Stars, said it was just like the old days and that when things aren't working out, go back to what got you here.”
For Schosberg, going back to basics meant a call to Velazquez, who the horseman said is just as effective in a Thursday afternoon claiming race as he is in a prestigious Grade 1 on a marquee Saturday.
“When you're in a bit of a slump with your stable and you need a win or a good race, Johnny on turf, dirt, short, or long and whether the track is sloppy or dry, he always has them in position to run their best,” said Schosberg. “When we put him on Mary's Girl last year, she had hit the board a bunch of times but she had always come up a bit short, but she won for Johnny that day. It's a skilled rider that can have a horse like that feeling confident in themselves. Be it a $25,000 claimer, a New York-bred allowance or a Grade 1, he puts every horse in a position to run its best race and that's all you can ask.”
Schosberg, in his capacity at NYTHA, and Velazquez, as co-Chairman of the Jockeys' Guild, are also doing their part to better the sport they love.
“It's been an honor to work with him both on and off the racetrack as a representative of the horsemen for the last decade or two and with Johnny as a representative of the jockeys through negotiations on so many different initiatives,” said Schosberg. “The art of getting projects and initiatives moved forward for the good of this sport with so many different stakeholders is a tribute to him and his skills and demeanor as a person. I just wish his 2,000th win at Belmont could be with one of mine.”
Velazquez has seven scheduled mounts on Thursday's 10-race program, which offers a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern, including Vermont Billy [Race 1, George Weaver], Hayabusa One [Race 3, Mark Casse], Vintage Hollywood [Race 5, Orlando Noda], High Tide [Race 6, Pletcher], Tiergan [Race 8, Bill Mott], Festina Plente [Race 9, Michael Stidham], and Panster [Race 10, Christophe Clement].
America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.
Former Hialeah Park President Eugene Ewan Mori, Jr. passed away at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Aug. 30, reports the Sun Sentinel. He was 92 years old.
Mori was the son of Eugene V. Mori, Sr., owner of multiple racetracks including Garden State in Cherry Hill, N.J., Hialeah Park in Miami, Fla., and controlling interest in Tanforan out in California.
Mori was president of both Garden State and Hialeah while in the employ of his father. He commissioned bronze statues of famous racehorses for Hialeah, stopped the practice of clipping of the Flamingo's wings so that they could fly around the track, and donated to multiple retired racehorse sanctuaries.
Mori was also instrumental in ending segregation at Hialeah Park in the 1960's, beginning with celebrated singer and dancer Cab Calloway in 1961.
The Sun Sentinel reports the day Calloway visited Hialeah Park:
“Mr. Calloway approached the doorman of the club house and attempted entry. The doorman would not allow him in as Hialeah was segregated. Mr. Calloway insisted that the doorman call the president of the track. Mr. Mori happened to be having lunch at the club that day. The doorman contacted Mr. Mori and said Mr. Cab Calloway was at the door and wants to come in. Mr. Mori asked, the doorman, 'Is Mr. Calloway wearing a jacket and tie?' As that was the dress code for all, 'If not give him one and let him in, and tell him he is my guest for lunch.' Eugene had been a great admirer of Cab Calloway and his music, and felt privileged to meet him that day. From that day on Eugene Mori, Jr. ended Segregation at Hialeah Racetrack.”
This is the second in a four-part series examining the arrival of female jockeys in American horse racing – why and how they broke in to the sport when they did, and how racing has reacted. In this second installment, we'll learn about Kusner's court fight to get a jockey's license. You can find the first installment in the series here.
Nov. 22, 1967 began like any other day for the stewards at Laurel Race Course. They fully expected to go about their usual business of reviewing applications, making rulings and attending to miscellaneous administrative details. Partway through the meeting, their role as stewards changed forever. Kathy Kusner, a medal-winning member of the United States Equestrian Team, dropped a bomb in their laps; she presented them with an application to compete as a professional jockey in horse races. Men who, until that point, fulfilled their roles in relative anonymity were thrust — most unwillingly — into a very public discussion about the future role of women in horse racing.
Even Kathy Kusner, in relating her feelings about that time, felt conflicted. As she told The Baltimore Sun, “This is no great crusade. I just want a license.”
And yet, years later in a phone interview she recognized that her application represented something far greater. She stated, “This issue is bigger than me,” evidence she recognized that her application may have started out as a simple application for a license, but quickly blossomed into something far greater.
By the 1960s, women had been involved in horse racing for decades. Their roles included grooms, hot walkers, and exercise riders. There were several examples of women as successful owners, however Mary Lou Whitney and Lucille Markey (note that at the time she was almost always referred to as Mrs. Gene Markey) cannot be considered representative of a repressed group of women, as their fortunes essentially purchased their rights to participate in horse racing. Grooms, hot walkers, exercise riders — no jockeys.
As a result of the Civil Rights Act and an overall increase in women's pushback against the societal status quo of women's role in the home and workplace, the timing was suitable for women to break into the role of professional jockeys. However, someone had to be first.
Kusner had been a successful member of the equestrian community for years. As she enjoyed her public success over jumps, she began to ponder an additional career in flat racing. Although she had already established herself in the world of show jumping, a field heavily dominated by men, she did not consider herself a groundbreaker or a rebel. She patiently continued to wait for another woman to apply for a racing license.
Her application probably created pure terror in the minds of the stewards. As noted by The News Leader, J. Fred Colwill, the steward who represented the Maryland Racing Commission, “was obviously shaken by the show of Woman Power and attempted to fend it off with a number of technicalities which were promptly batted down by Kusner's Attorney Audrey Melbourne.” Melbourne was a formidable presence in her own right, and was later named the first full-fledged female judge in Prince George's County. In a bit of foreshadowing of how the American media would cover Kusner's fight, Morris Siegel, of the Washington Star referred to Melbourne as “her lady lawyer, naturally.”
The initial response to Kusner's application involved some legal tap-dancing about who should, in fact, be the recipient of the application. Colwill and the other stewards wanted nothing to do with this potential controversy. At first Colwill attempted to use various technicalities to refuse acceptance of the application, but Kusner's attorney adroitly batted them aside. At that point Colwill changed tactics, stating that the application instead had to be submitted to James Callahan, the secretary of the Maryland Racing Commission. Unfortunately for Colwill, Callahan chose that particular moment to walk into the meeting. Melbourne then attempted to hand Callahan the application. Colwill, in what may in hindsight be perceived as a Freudian slip of how they viewed the application, shouted, “Don't touch it! It is an application by a girl for a jockey's license!”
Callahan responded quickly, and informed Melbourne and Kusner that the application had to be presented to the Chairman of the racing commission. Who should walk into the meeting but D. Eldred Rhinehart, the Chairman of the Commission. The application couldn't be kicked upstairs any further, and Rhinehart told Kusner the application would be reviewed at the next meeting of the commission.
Next, the racing commission attempted to refuse her qualifications based on her ability. The stewards made Kusner gallop horses for them, an ordinary requirement that typically weeded out riders who lacked the qualifications to safely ride a powerful Thoroughbred. However, the review process is highly subjective, and after Kusner's demonstration, the stewards presented concerns about Kusner's riding that were spurious at best.
Some of those issues the commission raised included examples of a BFOQ (Bone Fide Occupational Qualification) which skirts Title VII requirements for equality in the workplace. BFOQs means there are times when sexual preference in hiring is acceptable, even expected, such as hiring men to model men's clothing. Some of the objections they raised were that she wasn't “strong enough,” or that she “bounced” too much in the saddle. However, testing from the starting gate needed the approval of only the head starter, in this case, Eddie Blind.
When tested from the starting gate, Kusner passed with flying colors. Blind said, “I've seen all of 'em in my forty years — Arcaro, Atkinson, Longden, Shoemaker, Culmone — and none of 'em, at her stage, got out of there any better.”
Other objections included a fraught discussion regarding where Kusner would change into her silks. She responded by stating she would be happy to change in a broom closet; she expected no special treatment.
What other arguments might the commission bring to the fore? Well, Kusner was still an amateur; the Olympics had not yet relaxed their standards on professional participants, which meant she could not ride horses for pay without jeopardizing her amateur status and Olympic eligibility. So, the commission argued that since she would essentially be riding for free, she would be taking the place of a hard-working male jockey who needed the income – at a time when the cultural norm was for men to be the sole breadwinners in their family.
To that argument Kusner replied that she would donate her winnings to the United States Equestrian Team. When the stewards watched her ride, Colwill decided that she was less than proficient in her riding ability, stating, “(Kusner) did not display the ability to ride with professionals in races.”
Kathy Kusner leaves the scales after the Rose Tree Ladies Plate in Pennsylvania
Kusner's attorney realized that these shenanigans with the racing commission had to end, and took the commission to civil court over what she believed was a Title VII violation. Melbourne argued that the Maryland Racing Commission had willfully ignored all arguments presented regarding her client's ability and had acted in a manner that was “arbitrary and capricious Kusner, who the Maryland Racing Commission believed lacked the ability to ride in a race, could not attend the hearing regarding her application. She was in New Jersey training with the United States Equestrian Team in preparation for the upcoming Olympics.
“When we spoke with Kathy during the development of this exhibit, one thing was very clear: Kathy had no ego getting in the way of her fight, she was just doing what she believed was right,” said Jessica Whitehead, curator of exhibits like Right to Ride at the Kentucky Derby Museum. “No conscious feminism, no explosive righteousness, just capable Kathy ready to do what it took to do what she loved.”
At the trial to determine if Kathy Kusner could be granted a license to ride as a professional jockey, Circuit Judge Ernest A. Loveless took less than five minutes to reach his decision. He found that the Maryland Racing Commission had acted in a prejudicial manner and had based their decision solely on the fact that Kusner was a woman, and said, “the Stewards had disregarded normal procedures and had set up a special set of standards as to her riding ability.”
The regulatory body doubled down on its objections, issuing the following statement in response to the judge's decision —
“Upon the order of the Circuit Court of Prince Georges County, which substituted its judgement for that of the commission and stewards who are familiar with the qualifications of jockeys, the racing commission this date will issue a jockey's license to Kathryn H. Kusner.”
There are two ways people behave. The first is de jure, meaning according to the law. The other is de facto, meaning how people act regardless of the law. A de jure interpretation means that regardless of someone's personal beliefs, women will be permitted to ride racehorses. A de facto response means that, no matter what Judge Loveless decided, commissions, licensing bodies, owners, and trainers could all make it extremely difficult for women to be granted licenses.
Unfortunately, the world would have to wait to see Kathy Kusner enter her first race as a licensed jockey. In November 1968 her mare, Fru, fell at a hurdle at during a jumper class at Madison Square Garden and Kusner broke her tibia, requiring months of convalescence. The honor of first female professional jockey to ride in a race would fall to Diane Crump, who in February 1969 made the entrance of women into racing official. Kusner would have to wait until August of 1969.
A victory, to be sure. At the time the United States (as well as the rest of the world) was in the midst of a social upheaval where we were digging deep into long standing beliefs on race, sex, and the individual's role in society. Even the media found itself reevaluating how it presented stories. Take note of the words used in various newspapers to describe America's newest licensed jockey. Articles were littered with such descriptors as “lissome,” “petite,” and “attractive.” The Ottawa Journal, in reporting her court victory, noted Kusner was wearing a “violet plaid dress and pink shoes.” Unfortunately, we shall have to leave it to the reader's imagination as to what the men in the courtroom were wearing.
David Beecher has a master's degree from Shippensburg University and a PhD from Penn State, where he is currently a lecturer. Dr. Beecher's research and teaching interests are American history with an emphasis on Early American and Civil War History. His dissertation explained the role of Thoroughbred racing in the Antebellum South.
