People

Laying fifth in a field of 11 horses, Mary Wiley Wagner gave Sonata Brae a bit of encouragement heading into the turn of the last race at Laurel Park on the day after Thanksgiving 2010.

One year and two days removed from her final chemo treatment for breast cancer, the 47-year-old jockey—who had just come out of retirement in August—asked Sonata Brae to bring the speed, and the 3-year-old filly obliged.

That day, Wagner rode to the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly 14 years, bringing her career total wins to 276 and her lifetime earnings to $2,716,900.

Shakespeare may have had Wagner in mind when he wrote: “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

“If you tell me I can’t do something, by all means, I’m going to prove you wrong,” says the Eastern Shore resident.

In the spring of 2010, Wagner had returned to the saddle to ride in the Lady Legends for the Cure Race, the first-ever pari-mutuel race showcasing eight retired champion female jockeys.

A highlight of the Black-Eyed Susan Day card, the race was part of the People’s Pink Party, a partnership between Pimlico Race Course and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research (see sidebar).

“I had not realized how much I missed the track, the people—the horses,” says Wagner, a mother of two and wife of Maryland Jockey Club starter Bruce Wagner.

“The first time I got back on a horse, it suddenly occurred to me that the world is a prettier place when I’m looking at it between the ears of a horse.”

Raised in Annapolis, Wagner, the youngest of four, didn’t inherit her parents’ sailboat-racing gene. Instead, she became a horse nut. Having begun riding at age 10, she was, by 17, walking “hots” and galloping horses at Bowie Race Course.

But notions of becoming a jockey were the furthest thing from her mind—that is, until another rider, Eddie Marshall, opened his mouth.

“He came up to me one day and said, ‘You do know that you can’t be a jockey, right? You can’t be a jockey because you’re a girl,’” recalls Wagner.

“That was the first time I ever heard of that concept.

“‘My sister went from high school to the state police academy. My mother qualified for the Olympics in sailboat racing. What the heck do you mean, I can’t? I work as hard as you do, I’m better on a horse than you.’ All these things are running through my mind.

“What the hell? I’ll show him!”

Wagner got her first win in 1986 at Pimlico aboard Let’s Invest, who was trained by the late Meredith “Mert” Bailes. Winning, however, did not translate to acceptance.

Owner William Harris rarely made an appearance at the track but had one rule: No apprentice riders and no “girls” on his horses.

Bailes apparently didn’t get the memo.

“I’m winning all these races, but in the [Daily Racing] Form, I’m ‘M.C. Wiley,’” says Wagner.

“Mr. Harris calls Mert one day and says, ‘Who’s this Wiley boy you’re putting on all my horses?’ Mert, thinking fast on his feet, says, ‘Oh, that’s Marvin. Don’t worry about Marvin. Marvin does a fine job.’”

In the mid 1980s, Wagner ranked among the top five apprentice riders in the country, keeping good company with the likes of Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux. In 1987, she won 148 races from 1,089 starts and earned $1,334,080.

Despite numerous injuries, including a severed ACL, Wagner continued to race for another decade. But with a daughter on the way, she retired from the saddle to the tack room in 1997. A second daughter followed in 1999. During this period, Wagner began a successful second career in real estate.