Defying the Odds: Horseplayers and Female Jockeys

The effect of a jockey's sex on both pari-mutuel betting odds and race outcomes is examined for a three-year sample of North American thoroughbred races. The results reveal that for all races in total, a jockey's sex has no significant impact on the outcome of a race, holding all else constant, including horse quality. However, horseplayers assign a 1.5% higher probability of winning to female jockeys as reflected in their betting behaviour. For the subsample of stakes races, female jockeys are 2% less likely to win, ceteris paribus, but horseplayers do not consider jockey sex to be significant information for these premier races. Thus, the results indicate that horseplayers overestimate the performance of female jockeys in an industry where female jockeys often report significant hurdles to achievement and advancement. We conclude that pari-mutuel betting markets reflect an inefficiency with respect to a jockey's sex and that additional research is needed to uncover the source of this anomaly.