Lady Legends race today.. Bios

[Kasept]

Lady Legends race -- Facts about the eight women riders
By Mike Klingaman, The Baltimore Sun

Patricia Cooksey – age 52 . . . third all-time leading female jockey with 2,137 victories and nearly $20 million earnings . . . rode in both Kentucky Derby (1984, 11th) and Preakness (1985, 6th) . . . ended 25-year career in 2004 . . . director of public relations for Kentucky Racing Commission.

Gwen Jocson – age 43 . . . youngest rider in Lady Legends Race . . . her 376 victories in 1991 is one-year record for women riders . . . 10-year career ended in 1999 . . . studying to be a physician's assistant in Bensalem, Pa.

Andrea Seefeldt Knight – age 46 . . . One of two women to ride in both Kentucky Derby (1991, 16th) and Preakness (1994, 7th) . . . graduate of South River High . . . rode from 1981 to 1994 . . .Owns and operates 70-acre horse farm in Sparks.

Barbara Jo Rubin – age 60 . . . first woman to win at a recognized track (Charles Town) in 1969 . . . also the first at Pimlico and Aqueduct . . . competed one year, retired . . . oldest rider in Lady Legends Race . . . teaches dressage in Troy, Ill.

Jennifer Rowland Small – age 57 . . . attended Franklin High, lives in Upperco . . . a pioneer in state racing, won 192 races between 1971 and 1977 . . . one of first women to win a stakes race in Maryland . . . now a financial planner.

Mary Russ Tortora – age 56 . . .first woman to win a Grade 1 stakes race (Hialeah, 1982) and the first to earn $1 million in a year . . . raced 1980 to 1986, and 1993 to 1994 . . .owns horse training farm and works in a deli in Ocala, Fla.

Mary Wiley Wagner – age 46 . . . Fifth-leading apprentice jockey in U.S. in 1987 . . . graduate of Annapolis High . . . raced professionally for 10 years and won 275 races . . . lives in Stevensville (Kent County) and works as a realtor.

Cheryl White – age 56 . . . first African American female jockey to race, also to win (Waterford Park, W. Va., 1971) . . .won 257 races before retiring in 1999 . . . now a state racing official living in Pleasanton, California.