Women riders.

Most simply awful, not because they are women just because they are not the best.

I like Doyle she is brilliant, so is Blackmore, most often positive in races.

Here is the article btw...mentions Kelly and Turner, both simply awful, nice people I am sure though....

In recent years, a small band of outstanding female jockeys have made an enormous impact on British and Irish racing, winning the biggest races and commanding respect from all corners of the sport.

Last year, Hollie Doyle became the first woman to ride the winner of a European Classic with Group 1 status on Nashwa, that success in the Prix de Diane figuring among four top-level victories. She also managed a fourth successive century of winners in Britain and finished joint-second in the championship behind William Buick.

Rachael Blackmore was crowned top jockey at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, a meeting when she won the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle and posted a further five winners. Just a month later, she became the first woman to win the Grand National aboard Minella Times.

Another jockey to land Grade 1 honours over jumps is Bryony Frost, most famously on Frodon in the 2019 Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham and the 2020 King George at Kempton.

Doyle, Blackmore and Frost have followed on from the likes of Hayley Turner and Lizzie Kelly, top-level winners who also played their part in normalising female success in the saddle.

The emergence of these hugely talented women has brought welcome publicity to racing – Doyle was crowned Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year for 2020, when she also finished third in BBC Sports Personality of the Year, while Blackmore was named The Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year for 2021 – and the significance of this spotlight cannot be understated.

Racing can seem anachronistic to many, yet the image of women not just competing against men on a level playing field but beating them on the biggest stage has made it look forward-thinking and almost a pioneer of modernity.

Look beyond these isolated cases, though, and the picture is murkier.

Saffie Osborne: one of the top talents in the weighing room
Saffie Osborne: one of the top talents in the weighing room
John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

After Doyle, the only other woman in the top 50 in the British jockeys' championship was Saffie Osborne in 43rd. Indeed, Doyle is the only woman to have finished in the top 30 since Nicola Currie sneaked into 30th place in 2018.

The picture is even more bleak over jumps, where beyond Frost the highest-placed female finishers in the last five years were in 40th place in the table (Page Fuller in 2019-20 and Bridget Andrews in 2018-19).

In Ireland, other than Blackmore, only Jody Townend has made the top 40 over jumps in the last two seasons following the retirement of Lisa O'Neill, while Siobhan Rutledge has placed highest on the Flat in the last five years with her 26th-placed finishes in 2021 and 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

Women in the top 50 of the British Flat jockeys' championship 

2022: Hollie Doyle (2nd), Saffie Osborne (43rd)
2021: Doyle (5th), Hayley Turner (36th), Osborne (37th), Joanna Mason (48th)
2020: Doyle (4th)
2019: Doyle (13th), Josephine Gordon (48th)
2018: Nicola Currie (30th), Doyle (43rd), Turner (47th), Gordon (50th)

Women in the top 50 of the British jump jockeys' championship

2021-22: Bryony Frost (27th)
2020-21: Frost (17th)
2019-20: Frost (15th), Page Fuller (40th) 
2018-19: Frost (19th), Bridget Andrews (40th)
2017-18: Frost (25th)

Women in the top 50 of the Irish Flat jockeys' championship 

2022: Siobhan Rutledge (26th), Amy Jo Hayes (31st) 
2021: Rutledge (26th), Annalise Cullen (41st), Nikita Kane (46th), Sorcha Woods (50th) 
2020: Rutledge (37th), Kane (43rd), Maxine O'Sullivan (46th)
2019: Rachael Blackmore (50th) 
2018: Lisa O'Neill (36th), Blackmore (46th) 

Women in the top 50 of the Irish jump jockeys' championship

2021-22: Rachael Blackmore (4th), Jody Townend (22nd) 
2020-21: Blackmore (2nd), Townend (38th), Aine O'Connor (44th) 
2019-20: Blackmore (3rd), Lisa O'Neill (37th), O'Connor (46th), Katie O'Farrell (50th) 
2018-19: Blackmore (2nd), O'Neill (15th), O'Farrell (48th) 
2017-18: Blackmore (11th), O'Neill (23rd), O'Farrell (48th)

Yet it's not as if plenty of female riders – and good ones to boot – aren't coming into the sport at a young age, especially on the Flat.

The BHA reports that last month, of the 88 apprentice licences in Britain 32 were held by women, which is 36 per cent. And plenty of women have excelled as apprentices, with Doyle, 2016 champion Josephine Gordon, Currie, Megan Nicholls and Georgia Dobie making the top five in the table since 2015.

However, just 16 of the 135 professional licences in Britain are carried by women, which equates to just 12 per cent. That's more in keeping with the number of women at all levels over jumps in Britain, where just six of the 67 conditional licences and nine of the 111 professional licences belong to women.

The situation is similar in Ireland, where 28 per cent (13 out of 47) of apprentice licences are held by women, yet just five per cent (eight out of 149) of the professional ones.

So why are so few women making the jump from apprentice to professional? And why does such a small proportion of those professionals go on to reach the top 50? Jane Elliott's experiences go some way to explaining the issue – and they don't paint a pretty picture for racing.

'There were trainers my agent said wouldn't use a girl'

Elliott rode 33 winners in 2017, her third full season in the saddle, but that would prove as good as it got for her in Britain. Although the Covid-affected 2020 was her only year below 20 winners, her lack of opportunities prompted her to move to the US last year, the same path taken recently by Grace McEntee and other talented women like Sophie Doyle before her.

"I was riding a lot for Tom Dascombe but he and Michael Owen went their separate ways last year," says Elliott. "I spoke to Tom and my agent and they advised me to give the US a go."

For Elliott, without the backing of Dascombe's string, staying in Britain was not an exciting prospect. She is not alone in these difficulties either.

"There's not many females in good jobs," she says. "Hollie [Doyle] did well with the Archie Watson job. I was aiming for the number one job at Dascombe's before the split, but I don't think I ever would have achieved it.

"I was always floating around as a lightweight rider trying to get into the bigger stables, but you're always number four or five on the list of jockeys they'd use.

"I don't know if it's a gender thing or not, because I'm sure there's a lot of guys who lose their claim and struggle too, but I do think there's a lack of girls in jobs – they're more just getting by.

"When I was looking for jobs, I would look at trainers who had used girls in the past automatically, as it proves they're not bothered by gender. There were a handful of trainers my agent said wouldn't want to use a girl. Whether there were more instances behind the scenes, I don't know."

Jane Elliott: has suffered instances of sexism in Britain and the US
Jane Elliott: has suffered instances of sexism in Britain and the US
Getty Images

And it's not necessarily the trainers either. Owners can be wary of using female jockeys, as Elliott discovered.

"I rode a horse three times to get its handicap mark for Dascombe and as soon as it was handicapped, I was taken off it. It was confusing and I asked Tom why, and he said, 'Sorry, the owners don't like girls'.

"As soon as they thought it could win, they didn't want me on it – I only managed to ride the horses because of Tom. When they were in a race that they thought was winnable, I definitely wasn't on them."

Elliott has faced similar problems since moving across to the US, highlighting the worldwide nature of the issue, although she points out that one advantage is that American connections are far more willing to keep claiming jockeys in the saddle for big races, providing a greater window of opportunity.

"Over here, if you get on a decent horse they seem to be happy to let you ride stakes races," she says. "They don't seem to be so prejudiced over here; they even let claiming riders do so in the big races.

"It's a big thing back in England. If you ride a horse and it's in a Group race, you suddenly get taken off. That's your stepping stone to the higher level and you need someone to give you that chance."

Elliott has ridden four winners in the US but is optimistic that 2023 will be a far stronger year, with her name now out on the circuit.

"I'm going to give it a good while," she says. "I applied to extend my visa for another four years. Whether I'll be over for that long, I don't know, but I'm going to give it a bloody good go."

'You still have older trainers against girls riding'

Elliott's fellow riders Emma Smith-Chaston and Joanna Mason also believe things have been made harder because of their gender, with Smith-Chaston even told, like Elliott, that certain trainers would be unwilling to use her because she is a woman – but both do at least feel that the tide is turning.

Smith-Chaston, who is a conditional jockey at Micky Hammond’s North Yorkshire yard, has ridden 18 winners this season, the second time she has hit double figures and already a new career-best tally.

There have been barriers along the way, though, as she reveals: "I have been told 'so and so won't use you because you're a girl'. It's tough because you still have those older trainers against girls riding."

Emma Smith-Chaston: conditional jockey on the upgrade
Emma Smith-Chaston: conditional jockey on the upgrade
Louise Pollard

However, thanks in part to the success of the likes of Doyle and Blackmore, she does feel that things are changing, especially with younger trainers.

"It's fewer and further between now," she continues. "Racing is being forced to change with so many trainers having their daughters come through, and the modern trainers coming through don't care as much.

"A lot of that is thanks to the likes of Hollie Doyle and Rachael Blackmore, who have broken the ceiling and said, 'We can be as good as the boys'."

Those sentiments are echoed by Mason, who was the third most successful female jockey behind Doyle and Osborne in last year's championship.

"I would definitely say it's harder for women to find outside opportunities," she says, "although I do think the whole stereotype of 'girls and boys' is changing thanks to the likes of Hollie Doyle.

"I think the stigma still exists, but I also think times are changing and there are a lot more girls around. I do think you have to work harder, but you just hope to reap the rewards. It's definitely a hard world for everybody involved, but probably even more so for women."

'There's less and less of a stigma'

Charlie Longsdon is one of those younger trainers happy to give opportunities to women, with his young conditional Lilly Pinchin flying the flag for female riders during this jumps season.

Pinchin, 23, secured her 19th and 20th victories of the campaign with New Year's Eve and New Year's Day wins aboard Tea For Free at Newbury and Hector Javilex at Cheltenham. Those wins on ITV Racing thrust her name into the spotlight, but for many, including Longsdon, her rise has been no real surprise.

"Lilly came to us in January time after wanting to come and ride out," says Longsdon. "At the time, in brutal honesty, I said, 'I'm not sure I can offer you masses but come and ride out, it'll open doors'.

"She originally came in once a week, I started putting her on some horses and it just clicked. At the end of the last season, she was looking for someone to hold her licence and we were happy to oblige.

"When she was about to lose her 5lb claim I said to her, 'You need to spread your wings as much as you can, you need to ride out for as many people as possible', as it's hard to get going."

Longsdon's generation of trainers has started a culture shift towards giving women more chances, but he acknowledges there is a long way to go.

"Without being disrespectful, the whole 'girl' thing, which is a bit mad in this day and age, makes it even harder still," he says.

"It's traditionally tougher for women, but I think there's less and less of a stigma; if you're good enough, you'll get the opportunities. The younger trainers of this world are very open – if there's a good woman about, they'll use them. I think women are generally harder workers too."

Lilly Pinchin: excelling this season for the Charlie Longsdon yard
Lilly Pinchin: excelling this season for the Charlie Longsdon yard
Edward Whitaker

Pinchin's talents are evident from her exploits on the track, but her influence at the yard should not be understated either, with Longsdon adding: "She's a breath of fresh air. Everyone in the yard loves her company and she always mucks in and gets involved. She's a happy person and that's great to have in the yard."

It's not just Longsdon with whom Pinchin has proved popular either. The likes of Richard Hobson, David Jeffreys, David Bridgwater, David Dennis and Ben Case have also been happy to make the most of her ability.

"It's just gone crazy since summer," she told the Racing Post's Front Runner newsletter this month. "I'm so lucky to have the support from great trainers, who are fuelling me with firepower. It's been brilliant."

Things are changing – but it's only a start

Pinchin, Smith-Chaston and Charlotte Jones all sit in the top 50 of the jump jockeys' championship in Britain. All three are in the lower half of it, admittedly, but their presence does provide some evidence of the change in attitudes described by Smith-Chaston and Mason.

Nonetheless, with Doyle the only woman in the top 25 of the Flat jockeys' championships in Britain or Ireland last year, it is clear this change is being translated into results and opportunities for women very slowly.

The challenge for the sport now is to accelerate this progress and make the most of the emergence of Doyle, Blackmore and Frost as genuine superstars in the saddle.

Racing is incredibly fortunate to have these women leading the ranks and inspiring the next generation. They have provided racing with a golden chance to portray itself as a forward-thinking, modern sport. When the number of female jockeys in the top 50 reflects the number entering the profession, then we will know it has succeeded.

But why do some pick out the awful ones because they are women. Plenty of men are awful as well.

Thanks Itsmeswaddle. Depressingly familiar story. I will continue to keep stats on the winning percentages of the top female riders when riding horses at under 16/1. It is easy to include the 200/1 no hopers and use that to prove they can't ride as well as men.

IYO is strength an advantage when riding?

Where's the evidence that owners don't want female riders? The article only quotes one random anecdote from a small trainer. Is that it?

Jan 15, 2023 -- 12:26PM, ItsMeSwaddle wrote:

IYO is strength an advantage when riding?

You only have to watch Mia Nicholls winning on that EJH horse bascinet @chelmsford on jan 5th to demonstrate the effectiveness of apparent strength, when hollie Doyle is near sawing her mount in half to try stay on top of the eventual winner that won a bob. Watch a power-lifter trying to box in a ring, they’re useless at it.
So I would say finesse > strength all day, there will be a strength element to finesse but jockeys with brains win races, they’re in the energy management game

Personally I feel like there are examples of female riders getting more opportunities as they are female. Some of the females in Ireland on the flat can barely move in a finish, but keep getting rides. Most of the men start at 16/17 under rules look almost like fully fledged jockeys with a big claim. Most of the females aren't good enough to beat the competition, it's not through a lack of opportunity nowadays.

Jan 15, 2023 -- 12:45PM, Cider wrote:

Personally I feel like there are examples of female riders getting more opportunities as they are female. Some of the females in Ireland on the flat can barely move in a finish, but keep getting rides. Most of the men start at 16/17 under rules look almost like fully fledged jockeys with a big claim. Most of the females aren't good enough to beat the competition, it's not through a lack of opportunity nowadays.

I think that is purely optics, I think you’d change your mind if the likes of siobhan Rutledge was riding round the aw tracks in England on a Tuesday.

SR can hold her own but that's the point. She's an average jockey in my view but one of the best female flat riders across the British Isles. There are literally hundreds of male jockeys who are as equally good, or stronger. If you can get a male who is as good as she is, and you can claim 5lbs and want to win, who are you going to pick?

It's just a very lazily written article portraying a comfortable 'high status' online opinion, safe territory. There aren't many females in the top echelon of jockeys in the sport, therefore that mist be down to dated bigotry. I'm afraid that if you really wanted to dig into why, it needs a lot more work than that.

Indeed, you’re correct there. There isn’t a pool of lady flat jockeys in Ireland as if rides are given out on merit, there shouldn’t be. Unfortunately, the game is too expensive to be giving out opportunities Willy nilly.
The more good lady jockeys there are in Ireland or the uk, the more lady riders will be emigrating to Kentucky like Julie Burke, Sophie Doyle and Grace mcentee.

There are more opportunities for 'journeymen' jocks in the US. GM is a decent example, as she is a reasonably competent jockey, but no more. There will be dozens of men who are in the same position, ride out the claim and that's it as there's nothing more compelling about them to be able to obtain more outside rides than their counterparts. HD and HT got to the higher echelons, simply because they were better than the crowd.

If you believe strength in a finish is the key to being a top jockey then few women can compete on that front. However if you believe horsemanship, balance and a clock is of great benefit they have a chance, probably why they are suited to dirt racing in the States.

Swaddle fwiw I think you are way off the mark with Hayley Turner, at least back in her heyday.

Difference between fellas and girls, the lady riders have more ambition so no problem moving to Kentucky to better their careers. The lads will miss the boozer, the nightclubs and sniffing lines off hookers bits

Strength in a finish is fundamental to being in the 'top division', surely. Or at least being strong enough when it's needed.

Cycling a bike into a hill, you’ll look stronger if you’re in the right gear and the strongest rider could so easily embrace the hill in the wrong gear

Pace judgement, tactics and balance over fences are very important and many women, particularly over jumps, have more eventing experience than the men. Strength will win a percentage of races but too much strength will lose a few as well if horses resent it. SDS is doing well in Hong Kong so far. How long will they take to find that he sours a lot of good horses?

There was quite an interesting chat with Gay Kelleway at Chelmsford the other night, after she won the first. She had a evens fav in a later race, Comedian Leader. Loughnane was riding and she said Luke Morris was upset that he was jocked off, but she went for BL as she really wanted to win the race (potential bonus). Now GK is known for giving females opportunities. But she went for BL as she thought that was her best chance of winning the race. Was that sexist? Ironically, Luke Morris won the race on the outsider of 4!

Strength is very much overrated in this sport in my opinion. I much prefer positioning and balance on the flat as sageform has argued over the jumps.

For most participants, winning is far more important than virtue signalling. Even for Gay Kelleway who consistently states she wants to give female riders opportunities when she can. But not on a short priced fav on a race she really wants to win....

Cider, get a grip, you’re moaning more than you’re discussing anything

Try and take the positive, not the negative

Difference between fellas and girls, the lady riders have more ambition so no problem moving to Kentucky to better their careers. The lads will miss the boozer, the nightclubs and sniffing lines off hookers bits.

Garbage ^^^

Richard Quinn once rode for me, and because I'm deaf I wanted to give him his riding instructions ("make all") straight off, so I wouldn't have to endure a conversation. It was a 3-runner race for 3yos over 2 miles 1 furlong at Bath (uphill finish). My horse had previously been staying on strongly into second at Chepstow over 2 miles, so clearly got the trip well, and I wanted to take advantage. Obvious really. Make all.

Anyway, Quinn came into the parade ring, walked up, and before I had a chance to speak announced he was going to hold my horse up in last place and do the others for a turn of foot. Turned out he's deaf too, and didn't want to endure a conversation.

Quinn, it turned out, was way shrewder than me. He said he'd gone through the form for the 3 horses, and mine was the only one who'd ever raced over as short as 6 furlongs, never mind been speedy enough to come second over the trip. He'd done his homework, thinking like a propunter, and worked out how to take full advantage of the horse. You could see why he'd won a Derby as a jockey, while I was fiddling around at  Bath as an owner.

The result? The horse sluiced up without a problem.

The point about this story is that there is a lot more to being a jockey than just being a good rider of a horse. It's horse racing, not horse riding. Do female riders necessarily get into the sport with the attitude of a punter? Doing the homework, going through the formbook for every horse? Looking for an angle to shaft the opposition? Or do they get into it because it's a way of getting paid for being good with horsies?

I really don't know. But it would explain why owners see jockeys differently from the rest of us. To us punters a jockey's job comprises only the few minutes we see them in the race; but for an owner it's the whole package - what the jockey gives you beforehand and afterwards.

Nepotism got Mcentee rides and a move over too Turfway. Bang average jock

to*

I'm not moaning.

The trainer I highlighted has a publicly stated aim of giving opportunities to females. There would be dozens of female claiming riders who would leap at the chance of riding a short priced fav in a four runner race. Yet she gave the ride to a bloke who had never ridden for her before, after jocking off the rider of the Arc winner, who had won on the horse LTO.

Therein lays the answer. And it isn't bigoted owners, is it. However, it will be a less popular one on twatter and dinner parties.

Ms Kelleway clearly thinks that young Loughnane is 7lb superior to Morris, and was influenced by her horses 6lb penalty for its win.

She still had to leave England to take the opportunity. Sophie Doyle’s mounts earned $2.5M in prize money in 2021.

Whilst female jocks may be inferior, they aren’t staying at home to moan about prizemoney. Relax jumping down my throat and understand my point you dummy

Regarding Grace mcentee*

she is walking into a job because her uncle is over there.
idiot

RM, riders leaving the country to further their career is a different topic really. GM has relatives in game in the US who are going to give her rides. It's a bit different if you're just winging it in hope, I assume.

Tyler Heard is  over there as well. Does he not have the same ambition as Mcentee?
Does Tyler have family over there?
Men lack ambition compared to women? You sir, are a complete berk

"Heard, who rode 12 winners in Britain in 2022, said the following day: "It was my first ride on dirt and I earned more last night than in any of the months of the last 12 that I spent in England."

Well done Tyler, if only you had a woman's ambition

Sophie Doyle left through a lack of opportunities, her mounts earned 2.5m in prizemoney in 2021.
I doubt either of you remember Adam beschizza in England, he left through lack of opportunities in England and his mounts won over 8.4 million in prize money in 2021.

Grace mcentee goes out with Tyler heard so therefore is piggybacking the same connection you claim Grace has an advantage with

Stop grinding my gears

Public service announcement. Grace only gets rides because she’s Paul mcentees niece and Tyler heard gets a winner riding for paul mcentee but that’s only because he’s a grafter

Jumping cuckoo, racing circles are very small almost as narrow as your mind, hence why I suspect you never knew they were an item as your skill set stops at copying + pasting from articles online

Don't come out with garbage such as men don't have the same ambition as women and will be taking cocaine, and you won't get pulled up for spouting garbage.
You a man hater? You seem so.

Tyler = grafter

Grace = privileged

Name jockey that have failed for alcohol or substance

Do you stand by this embarrassing nonsense or not?

Difference between fellas and girls, the lady riders have more ambition so no problem moving to Kentucky to better their careers. The lads will miss the boozer, the nightclubs and sniffing lines off hookers bits.

*a jockey

"I rode a horse three times to get its handicap mark for Dascombe..."

Had to laugh at that one...

My point is that when ladies are interviewed after riding a winner, their complaint is not getting riding opportunities. The lads interviewed after winning rides are complaining about prizemoney

okay, no worries, i probably missed the point
good luck

No hard feelings, I was being hot headed

I am aware that male riders > female riders but female riders are always savvy interviewees and their interviews are full of enthusiasm

If I was an owner wanting to win (note last part of course) I'd never put a female jock on. Doyle is their best, and I still would prefer a stronger male rider.

I’d be interested to see you handle that dilemma if the trainer told you the horse only goes well under a certain rider

Iced bun?

Lingfield 3 races, 2 women riders win at 7/1 and 9/1.