There were no female jockeys on the field at Bowie Race Track when Andrea (Seefeldt) Knight attended her first horse race at 15 years old. That didn’t stop her that day from deciding to become a jockey.
Through the 1980s and 90s, Knight (who competed as Andrea Seefeldt, her name at the time) raced in nearly two dozen venues in the eastern half of the US, won 605 races in multiple graded stakes and earned almost $8 million in prize winnings.
Her career coincided with a decade or two when women were gradually accepted both in the stable and in the public eye.
- In 1991, she was the third woman ever to ride in the Kentucky Derby, riding Forty Something
- Also in 1991, Knight was the first woman to win the Pennsylvania Derby while guiding Valley Crossing. As of this date, she remains the only female jockey who has won this race.
- She was named Maryland jockey of the year in 1991.
- In 1994, she became the second woman to ride in the Preakness Stakes, aboard Looming.
- Though she then retired in the mid 90s due to injuries, Knight returned to Pimlico in 2010 to ride in the Lady Legends for the Cure races, which brought together pioneering female jockeys to raise money for breast cancer research. She won the last race of that event in 2014 while riding Zuerstgold.
After retiring from racing, Knight moved to a second sports career as a nationally and internationally-recognized sporting-clay shooter and instructor. She brought home a silver medal at the 2019 World English Sporting Championship and was inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame in October, 2002.
Andrea Seefeldt Knight’s success as a jockey in the 1980s and 90s laid the foundation for more girls and women to succeed in a once male-dominated sport.
Resources and read more:
Female Jockeys.com, accessed 09/23/26
https://www.pimlico.com/news/ex-jockey-andrea-seefeldt-knight-gets-fired-up-in-new-career/ accessed 09/23/26