Racing Victoria reports female jockey boom over past decade

Women now make up three-quarters of participants in Racing Victoria’s apprentice jockey program, thanks in part to trailblazers like Michelle Payne and Jamie Melham.

Record numbers of young women are signing up to become jockeys in Victoria, inspired by racing trailblazers like Michelle Payne and Jamie Melham.

Of the 40 riders enrolled in Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Programs, 31 are women.

And the percentage of females in this program – which aims to develop aspiring jockeys into elite athletes, in partnership with the Victorian Institute of Sport – has rocketed from 48 per cent in the 2014-15 racing season to 77 per cent in 2023-24.

RV attributes the boom to racing role models for young women becoming more visible and achieving inspiring feats – like Payne becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup in 2016, and Melham (nee Kah) riding an unprecedented 100 winners in a metropolitan Melbourne season in 2020-21.

Racing Victoria apprentice jockeys Dakotah Keane, Jaylah Kennedy, Jordyn Weatherley and Emily Pozman at Caulfield Heath Racecourse. Picture: Scott Barbour/Racing Photos

Thoroughbred racing was also becoming more reflective of the broader equestrian community, in which pony clubs and other grassroots riding organisations attract largely girls, and trainers and owners were giving more opportunities to female riders.

Fourth-year RV apprentice Jaylah Kennedy said she was lucky to “grow up watching women succeed” in the sport, and hoped the next generation of young jockeys would be inspired by her.

“I’ve always been heavily involved in the industry – Mum and Dad were jockeys, my grandparents, so it goes back a few generations,” the 23-year-old said.

“Seeing the jockeys at the jump outs, I loved the buzz of it, the speed, the adrenaline.”

Alongside Payne and Melham, she named a more recent history maker – the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race in Japan, Rachel King – and fellow New Zealanders Sam Collett and Lisa Allpress among her heroes.

Kennedy considers winning last year’s Ballarat Cup aboard Berkeley Square her career highlight so far, adding she was stoked to be able to “ride most Saturdays through the last Spring Carnival”.

Michelle Payne winning the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance inspired a new generation of female jockeys. Picture: Jay Town

Jamie Kah, who now uses the surname Melham, pictured shortly after notching her 100th Metropolitan winner in one racing season. Picture: Jason Edwards

Further RV figures show that in the 10 racing seasons to 2023-24:

The proportion of female jockeys – both senior riders and apprentices – competing in Victoria jumped 45 per cent;

The percentage of starters ridden by women increased 100 per cent;

Total female jockey rides per season were up 100 per cent; and,

Total wins per season for female jockeys rose 88 per cent.

RV chief executive Aaron Morrison said there had been “a real push” to make women more visible and included in racing, via initiatives like a $10.5m upgrade of female jockey rooms across the state and the Jockey Maternity Support Program.

“Racing is one of the few sports where men and women compete on equal footing, which makes it pretty special,” he said.

Melham is set to ride Goldrush Guru in the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington on March 1 – putting her up against new husband Ben Melham aboard early favourite Angel Capital.

Originally published as Racing Victoria reports female jockey boom over past decade