When you think of horse racing, the Triple Crown races and Kentucky Derby hats might be the first things that come to mind. But there's one aspect of horse racing that's often not discussed: gender inequality among trainers and jockeys. This is just what inspired photographer Nathan Perkel to capture a photo series about Maria Remedio, a female jockey who's bucking the norms.
Remedio, who's been competing since 2004, has raced at a number of tracks, including Philadelphia Park, Delaware Park, Laurel, Pimlico, Aqueduct, Hoosier, Penn National, Monmouth, Atlantic City, and Thistle Downs, as well as at a racetrack in Jamaica. She marked her 500th win at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA.
"Female jockeys are greatly unrepresented. They make up less than 10% of the male-dominated sport," Perkel told Refinery29.
Perkel found Remedio through Chris Forbes, a security employee at Parx Racing, and the owner of fan site, FemaleJockeys.com. After Forbes introduced the pair, Perkel went to the Parx Racing track in 2012 to photograph Remedio at the track and at her home.
Ahead, beautiful photos that capture Remedio in action.
"I wish people knew that females get denied vast amounts of opportunities by trainers and owners because of their gender," Perkel told Refinery29 of the horse-racing industry.
Caption: Maria glancing back during warm-ups.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"Female jockeys are greatly unrepresented," Perkel said. "They make up less than 10% of the male-dominated sport."
Caption: Maria prepping one of her saddles.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"My reason for photographing female jockeys was to show the unfortunately smaller and, at times, less-represented, group within the sport," Perkel explained.
Caption: Maria in the home stretch getting inched out by a nose.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"In horse racing, the top riders are always dominated by males," Perkel noted. ""It is said that the only way to get a fair chance as a female is to have a father or mother that is a trainer or an owner."
Caption: Maria prepping her rein knot before a race.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"I wanted to show one woman's perspective on racing and try to be a vehicle to help people realize how lopsided the female-to-male ratio is within the sport," Perkel said of his project.
Caption: Maria coming down the stairs from the locker room at Parx.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"More female-only events would be a good start to expose the riders' talent," Perkel told Refinery29. "But, ultimately, there needs to be a shift in the decision-making by the owners and trainers, which could be helped by the general public's interest in balancing out the sport."
Caption: The group rounding corner one with an ambulance watching.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"The energy around the track during a race is addicting," explained Perkel.
Caption: Maria and a group out the gates.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"From a photographic point of view, I find horse racing to be beautiful and exhilarating," said Perkel.
Caption: One of the horses Maria races on a regular basis at Parx.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"I shot these images of Maria a few years ago in hopes of building a larger project on the subject," Perkel explained.
Caption: Maria post-race, covered in dirt.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"She is rather accomplished, having recently clenched her 500th win," Perkel said of Remedio. "She is still racing, mostly at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA."
Caption: Maria with her kids on the balcony of her home.
Photo: Nathan Perkel
"You need to give everybody a fair chance," Chris Forbes told Refinery29.
Caption: Empty back straight before the races.
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