Patti Cooksey Appears on Boundless Podcast

Wandering Eyes · 2025-02-01T19:01:42Z

Patricia Cooskey began her riding career in 1979, at a time when female jockeys were not only rare, but were often discriminated against. She was the second woman in history to ride in the Kentucky Derby, the first to ride in the Preakness, and was at one time the all-time leading female jockey by victories. “I think the biggest challenge back then was being a woman in a male-dominated sport,” she said. “There were a few women who came before me, who I really consider the pioneers, tough women who broke down the barriers. I like to say that I paved the roads and made them a lot smoother for the women behind me, but still, it wasn't easy.”

She was the leading rider at Waterford Park in West Virginia in her first two seasons, and decided if she was going to be a jockey, she should ride in Kentucky, she tells Peterson on the podcast. She was met with resistance from trainers, she said, and went from riding every race back home to mounts that were few and far between.

She told the clerk of scales she was considering going back home, and he said he had a better idea. “`I've watched you ride,' he said, `and you've got the talent,'” Cooskey recalls him telling her.

“`What's your middle name?'” he asked her. “Joanne,” she said. They agreed to change her name to P.J. Cooksey.

“The next proram came out, and now I'm P.J. Cooksey,” she said. “Now, when trainers would call in and need a rider on their horse, he would say, `well, there's this new rider in town, P.J. Cooksey.' And they'd say fine, put him on.”

The interview is the second in a series Peterson-a jockey and veterinarian based in Lexington, Kentucky-is producing in the Boundless podcast series, designed to showcase stories of determination and overcoming adversity.

The podcast is available on YouTube here, or here on Spotify.