Only on rarest of occasions has a woman ever taken up duties as a full-time racetrack commentator – but Jessica Paquette is bucking the trend for the current meet at Parx in Pennsylvania. Interview by Jon Lees
USA: From her position high up in the stands at Parx racecourse in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Jessica Paquette has shattered a glass ceiling.
On Monday, November 15, trailblazing Paquette picked up the binoculars and microphone in her booth to start her new job as North America’s only full-time racetrack announcer.
Not many women have preceded her in calling the horses, almost exclusively a men-only profession until 37-year-old Paquette took charge for a claimer for fillies and mares, the first of a ten-race card, to signal a sea-changing moment for the racing industry.
Mind you, Race 1 at Parx had some challenging horse names for a debuting commentator, such as Thefabulous Moolah and A Bit Bad N Boujee. Conquering the inevitable pre-race nerves, Paquette related the action to her new audience both on- and off-track and, when confronted with a scrambled finish to the contest, still had the speed of thought to sign off at the line with a neat quip, saying: “Oui Madame says ‘yes’ at the wire!”
A few bloopers
“There were a few bloopers in the early stages but I was happy with how I recovered,” she says. “I believe it’s not necessarily how things go, it’s how you finish and recover from them. I am learning on the job.”
According to Thoroughbred Daily News, Paquette does not have many predecessors as a woman in the announcer’s booth. About 60 years ago, Ann Elliott served at Jefferson Downs for a four-year period, while Angela Hermann had a short stint at Golden Gate Fields in 2016; she is now track handicapper at Canterbury Park.
New England native Paquette comes to the job with 20 years’ experience in other parts of the racetrack. Growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts, she was a regular at now defunct Rockingham Park – about 20 miles away in Salem, New Hampshire – before working as an intern at the much missed venue and then moving on to Suffolk Downs.
Following the demise of that beloved Boston track, Paquette worked as racing analyst at Colonial Downs in Virginia and Sam Houston in Texas, Most recently acting as director of communications for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation – a position close to home, as she owns a pair of retired Thoroughbreds herself.
On occasion she had stepped up to call races at both Suffolk Downs and Sam Houston, experience which led to her being offered the soon to be vacant full-time role by Parx Racing.
Huge adrenaline rush
“I called my first race in 2014 at Suffolk Downs when a tornado kept our announcer from making it on time,” she recalls. “I thought that was a one-off. It has a huge adrenaline rush and a lot of fun.
“Quite a few years later in 2020 an opportunity presented itself at Sam Houston to fill in over a weekend of Quarter Horses. I got to do it again the following year and realised that it was the kind of thing that, with some experience and by getting to do it on a regular basis, was something I would like to do as the next challenge, the next mountain to climb.”
She goes on: “I think the folks at Parx knew I was interested. So every Monday from here on out I will be at Parx. Year-round racing is such a treat for someone like me who just can’t get enough of being around the racetrack.”
Paquette’s breakthrough has provoked plenty of comment, positive and negative, but she knows she is not the finished article and will grow into the role. “Being the only woman doing anything opens things up to plenty of opinion, good and bad, and Parx is a large circuit with plenty of eyes on it,” she says. “I am certainly not hiding in the corner over here.
“I am very new to this, very green,” she admits. “I still have a lot of room to improve; there is a long way to go before I am truly good at this. Some criticisms are not unfounded but everyone starts somewhere.”
The best feedback has come from her fellow announcers, particularly close friend Jason Beem plus Travis Stone and Kurt Becker. “They have offered really, really helpful tips which have already helped me make a little step over,” she says.
Like a sponge
“At this point I am like a sponge. Because I am so green I am able to absorb as much as I can and I appreciate all the tips of the trade from people who have been doing this for decades.”
The advice will be fed into her work between now and next summer when she will also call the two G1 signature races at Parx, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion Stakes. “Hopefully be then I will be really ready for it!” she grins.
“I hope eventually there are more female racecallers. I got to where I got because other women in broadcasting paved the way for me. If I can kick open the door for another woman to come up and follow their dream, that would be great.
“In sports in general the tide is changing and people are becoming a little more accustomed to a woman’s voice in play-by-play, rather than just as a sideline reporter.
“For me growing up it never occurred to me that a track announcer was a job a woman could do because I’d never heard one, so I think representation does matter.”
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