In the jockeys’ ranks, Erica Byrne Burke is poised to become just the third female rider to win the Tasmanian Jockeys’ Premiership, joining Codi Jordan and trailblazer Beverley Buckingham.

Erica Byrne Burke is poised to become just the third female rider to win the Tasmanian Jockeys’ Premiership, joining Codi Jordan and trailblazer Beverley Buckingham. Byrne Burke currently sits on 74 wins, and with strong momentum heading into the final months of the season — including five rides at Hobart on Sunday — she is also on track to become only the second female jockey in Tasmanian history to ride 100 winners in a season, a milestone achieved only by Buckingham.

At just 17 in 1982, Beverley Buckingham became the first female in the world to win a state jockeys’ premiership. She went on to claim three Senior Jockeys’ Premierships, and in the 1994–95 season set a Tasmanian record with 109 winners. Her feature‑race résumé includes three Hobart Cups (1986, 1996, 1998), two Devonport Cups (1985, 1988) and the 1987 Launceston Cup. She also represented Australia in Japan in 1989, riding two winners during the international series.

Across an 18‑year career, Buckingham rode 906 winners from just over 6000 rides before her career was tragically cut short by a race fall in 1998.