Retired female jockeys to ride again at Pimlico in race approved for legalized wagering

Retired female jockeys to ride again at Pimlico

BALTIMORE — Patti Cooksey is taking her one-day comeback seriously. She’s lost weight and has been getting on horses again in a tuneup for the Lady Legends race featuring former female jockeys.

Cooksey is back at Pimlico this week where she was the first woman to ride in the Preakness, finishing sixth aboard Tajawa in 1985. She’ll be among eight women riding in Friday’s inaugural Lady Legends Race for the Cure, with a focus on breast cancer awareness.

Cooksey is a breast cancer survivor, along with Mary Wiley Wagner, who was among the nation’s top apprentice jockeys in 1983. Those two will be joined by Andrea Seefeldt Knight, Barbara Jo Rubin, Mary Russ Tortora, Gwen Jocson, Jennifer Rowland Small, and Cheryl White in the all-female event.