Roxane Losey
When this website was launched, Chris and I hoped that as more people saw it, the site would grow by leaps and bounds. Sure enough, we have been contacted by numerous female jockeys who have either happened to find our site or have learned about it from somebody else. One such jockey is Roxane Losey, who retired in 1999 but is still working with animals (read on). She had a successful riding career, but eventually decided that the daily struggle to keep her weight at the required level was taking its toll. It's a problem that a majority of jockeys face at some point in their careers, and the decision to leave riding when they are still physically capable of performing and winning can be a very difficult one. Roxane made the decision to retire, which was for the benefit of her well-being, and moved on to a different line of work. We are pleased that she continues to follow racing closely enough to have found our site, and we were very happy to include her.
Roxane Losey winning at
Charles Town Races
FOTH: Where were you born and where did you grow up?
RL: Lynwood, CA. grew up in a tiny town... Tehachapi near the Mojave Desert
FOTH:Do you have any brothers or sisters?
RL: I have one brother, Neal. He is 34.
FOTH: What were you like when you were growing up? Were you a tomboy, a wild child, the shy one??
RL: Well kind of all of the above. Growing up on a ranch I would say more of a tomboy but kind of shy since there were really no other kids around until my later years. Wild Child, definately..no fences on a ranch :)
FOTH: When was the first time you ever climbed aboard a horse? Describe what you remember about the experience.
RL: I was very young 3 or something. I don't remember it really. I have heard the stories of going to pick out a new pony when I was 5. It tossed me and the owners thought they had lost the sale because of it but contrare..I HAD to have that pony. It has been that way ever since. I always like the difficult ones or the ones in a race that just weren't quite getting there. Incidentally that pony was the best ever, in the end he would walk through fire had I have asked him.
FOTH: How long did you exercise/gallop horses at the track before taking out your jockey's license?
RL: I started at a farm in High School for two years and then went back to Remington Park for another 6 months or so, then up to the now defunct Ak-sar-ben for my first racing experiences.
FOTH: When did you know that you wanted to be a jockey?
RL: Always as a kid. My one good friend and I would take our English show saddles and jack the irons up as high as possible and let ‘er rip. I never really thought it would happen since I wasn't in the racing "circle".
FOTH: Was your family supportive of your career decision?
RL: Yes, they have always just given me a very long rope for whatever I was doing.
FOTH: Did they go to watch you ride?
RL: Yes all of my family has been, even Grammie. It always made her nervous but she'd get right up to the fence and cheer away. They have seen me ride in different states/tracks throughout my career.
FOTH: Where did you ride your first race?
RL: Ak-sar-ben racetrack
FOTH: How did you do?
RL: I believe I ran 5th. It was a horrendously muddy track and when I jumped off my legs just about buckled. I don't think I was breathing during the race.haha
FOTH: Where did you get your first victory?
RL: It was at Ak-sar-ben also, on a horse named Christina's Pass. She was a nasty thing in the gates (see what I told you earlier) but I would just wait her out. We had a special understanding. I knew I had the best horse in the race barring one. Around the 3/8ths pole that horse buggered out and I'll never forget the jock next to me said"go on with it Roxy, you got em". The wire took a million years it seemed but we got there well in front.
FOTH: Did you have any serious injuries during your career?
RL: I’m very lucky in that regard, a broken hand and a few concussions but nothing serious.
FOTH: What was the worst injury you ever had?
RL: I couldn't call any of them bad.
FOTH: What tracks did you ride at during your career? Did you have a favorite?
RL: Ak-sar-ben, Remington Park, Arapahoe, Turf Paradise, Tampa Bay Downs, Delaware Park, Atlantic City, Charles Town, Los Alamitos, Will Rogers Downs, Pimlico, various CA fairs. I think that is all. Well I like Los Al but I always preferred a mile track and did very well at Tampa so I guess I would have to like that one:)
FOTH: If you wish you could have ridden at any track which you didn't, which would it have been?
RL: Maybe Belmont, just to feel the scope of it all, and I always liked to ride around the turns, BIG turn, ya know..
FOTH: Why did you decide to call it a career? When did you step aside?
RL: I rode my last race in August of 1999. I was having a tremendous time with my weight as I was never naturally light enough to ride. I was starting to have some health issues that I just wasn't comfortable with for my long-term situation. I admire the guys that can do it day in and out, pulling the weight, I just found it too hard to continue.
FOTH: What are you doing nowadays?
RL: I am an Animal Keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo. It is a nice change of pace with the steady pay and benefits, health insurance, etc. Plus I get to stay within the animal world. Always a new experience riding an elephant or medicating a rhino, seeing a very rare, cute as a button Wooly Mountain Tapir take it's first steps. ALL big benefits however I miss race riding, always will, and would go back in a second if things were different.
FOTH: Is there anything further you'd like to say to the racing fans out there?
RL: Stay in the game, we need all the fans we can get. To those wanting, wishing to be jockeys....do it. Win lose or draw you will never know anything else like it in your lifetime.
FOTH: Thanks for the interview and for being a part of our site. Best wishes!