“Ladies Day” at Keeneland: Sutherland and Kuntzweiler make racing history
By Mike Porcaro
Midwest Thoroughbred
Back in the day, Ladies Day was reserved mostly for weekdays at baseball games and horse tracks when few men were able to attend. It was a great way for ballparks and racetracks to boost attendance and hope to break even on the day.
There was a “Ladies Day” of sorts at Keeneland on Oct. 22 when Chantal Sutherland and Greta Kuntzweiler combined to make history by being the first female jockeys in North American racing history to finish in first and second places in a graded stakes race.
In a Grade II race on Oct. 22, the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run for 3-year old fillies, Sutherland won on California traveler, Great Hot (Brz). The daughter of Orientate bested a local, Groupie Doll, ridden by Kuntzweiler. The pair combined for an exacta payout of $53.40 in the 7 furlong affair on the polytrack.
The accomplishment sent even veterans of the press and racing history heralds to the archives to learn if the feat had ever happened in the past.
It hadn’t.
With longtime lady jockeys Sutherland and Kuntzweiler, along with cutting edge riders like Rosemary Homeister, Jr., Rosie Napravnik, Inez Karlsson and Emma-Jayne Wilson consistently among the leaders, we should expect more of these types of “Ladies Days” at tracks throughout North America for years to come.