Swiss Skydiver – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
Are we going to have a female winner on the Preakness Stakes 2020?
This year the Preakness will feature a filly in Swiss Skydiver, who faces the boys or the second time in her career after finishing second in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in July. She will look to become the first female to win the race since Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Rachel Alexandra (2009) was the first filly since Nellie Morse in 1924 to win the Preakness. Fifty-four fillies have competed in the Preakness with five winners. In addition to Rachel Alexandra and Nellie Morse, the others are Flocarline (1903), Whimsical (1906) and Rhine Maiden (1915).
Kentucky Derby winners Genuine Risk (1980) and Winning Colors (1988) finished second and third, respectively, as the betting favorites.
Women in the Preakness Stakes
Jockeys:
Patricia Cooksey 1985, Tajawa (6th)
Andrea Seefeldt 1994, Looming (7th)
Rosie Napravnik 2013, Mylute (3rd)
2014, Bayern (9th)
Trainers:
Judy Johnson 1968, Sir Beau (7th)
Judith Zouck 1980, Samoyed (6th)
Nancy Heil 1 1990, Fighting Notion (5th)
Shelly Riley 1992, Casual Lies (3rd)
Dean Gaudet 1992, Speakerphone (14th)
Penny Lewis 1993, Hegar (9th)
Cynthia Reese 1996, In Contention (6th)
Jean Rofe 1998, Silver’s Prospect (10th)
Jennifer Pederson 2001, Griffinite (5th)
2003, New York Hero (6th)
2004, Song of the Sword (9th)
Nancy Alberts 2002, Magic Weisner (2nd)
Lisa Lewis 2003, Kissin Saint (10th)
Kristin Mulhall 2004, Imperialism (5th)
Linda Albert 2004, Water Cannon (10th)
Kathy Ritvo 2011, Mucho Macho Man (6th)
Linda Rice 2014, Kid Cruz (8th)
Miriam Lee has always been a horse racing fan thanks to trips to the tracks in her home state of Maryland with her father as kid. She owns an OTTB and is an advocate for promoting the sport among her peers. Miriam studies communication arts at Hood College and will receive her master’s degree in 2021, which she plans to use for a career in screenwriting. Her all-time favorite racehorse is Man O War.