Rosemary Homeister Jr.
Rosemary Homeister Jr. (born July 5, 1972) is a retired American jockey in Thoroughbred racing. Background Both of Homeister's parents were jockeys, and as a result she grew up riding horses. Her mother is now a horse trainer at the Calder Race Course, where Rosemary won her first race as an apprentice jockey. In 1991, she briefly attended Broward Community College but left to develop a career in racing. Homeister started her career working with horses as an exercise rider and breaking yearlings before beginning her riding apprenticeship in 1992. She was successful that year, becoming the first woman to win the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in the United States. She was originally the runner-up, but winner Jesus Armando Bracho from Venezuela was suspended, then surrendered his award for falsifying his racing papers. Two years later, she went to the awards ceremony to accept the award. Since then, Homeister has won more than 2000 races at tracks in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to New York. In 1995, she and her mother were profiled by CBS News Sunday Morning. In 2000 and 2001, she was the United States