It is no news that the horse racing industry is male-dominant. Trainers, owners, or jockeys – men have reigned atop across the field stemmed by regulations spanning decades. However, it hasn’t been limited to the demography. Over the years, icons like Jena Antonucci and Katie Davis have broken through to make their presence known.
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Katie Davis is one of the leading jockeys as a 10-year veteran of the industry. The 32-year-old, who hails from a family rich in horse racing connections, turned a mother back in 2021. In the next two years, she was back to own a million-dollar earning career, emphasizing that women are just as or rather more resilient and determined.
Horse racing jockey challenges norms in a trendy spin
The NYRA recently took to Instagram to share a clip of Katie Davis hopping on a social media trend. The viral audio covers women taking on a challenge as they mouth, “And I said, how hard can it be? Boys do it.” Davis, as a mother of a 2-year-old and 2591-starter horse racing jockey, seemed befitting of the audio as she climbed a dummy horse to back the statement. “Mom, wife, sister & JOCKEY….Nothing’s stopping @ktdavis116 from riding with the boys,” NYRA’s caption read. With 2 brothers, a father, and a husband for a jockey and another as a trainer, Katie Davis has even grown up riding with the boys.
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The mother-of-one attained her jockey license back in 2013 and earned her first win in 2014 at Aqueduct aboard Ivanovna. In 2017, she had a career year in earnings totaling $2,128,231. “I rode day and night and won 73 races and three or four stakes. I came here to ride and I feel I’ve accomplished a lot,” she said recalling the year. Last season, she came back stronger than ever to prove her horse racing excellence.
Challenging herself and those around
Katie Davis experienced her horse racing career peak in 2017 with a whopping number for career earnings. While the next seasons weren’t to the initial mark, her score only dropped drastically in 2022 when she stepped out to care for her daughter Riley. The icon accumulated only 22 rides for the season. However, coming back in 2023, she reached a new height. A record figure of 421-28-34-41 and $2.3 million in purse earnings.
Also Read: Top Female Jockeys in Horse Racing Industry
“I feel blessed. It was a big goal of mine to come back after becoming a mother. It was a big challenge for me and I feel like I nailed it, especially doing it here,” she told Paulick Report. Katie also added that she wanted to prove herself and ride the most difficult of horses. And she proved well and more, winning Daddy Knows thrice. Today juggling motherhood and horse racing, Katie has stood to inspire and to represent the thousands behind the scenes.
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