A couple of newsworthy events happened in the sports world on March 1, 1969, and they happened in different parts of the United States.

Over in Florida, legendary New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle announced his retirement after a storied eighteen-year career. As America approached the end of the decade, the sport of baseball found itself now at the end of an era with Mantle hanging up his bat and glove.

On that same Saturday, history played out at a couple of Thoroughbred tracks. One of them was Santa Anita, and the moment there came courtesy of a jockey who did something never before seen at the Arcadia venue.

A nine-race card was on tap that afternoon. But for Tuesdee Testa, only one scheduled riding assignment awaited her. She was due to ride in the third race, getting the call to team up with Buz On in a claiming contest on the main track.

This was not the first time Testa would ride in a race. She had already made history at Santa Anita earlier that week, for she became the first female jockey in the track's thirty-four year history to ride there. Booked to ride in the seventh race on February 27, Testa piloted Gallarush as they finished ninth against allowance company in the sprint.

Gallarush had been well over 20-1 in that outing, but Testa had one of the main contenders in her follow up. She was named to ride an Everett King-trained chestnut named Buz On, who was around 7-2 at the close of wagering. The only ones in the field that took more win handle were Rubbish Man at close to 2-1, and Charming Fleet at more than 5-2.

From the start, there was another difference between Testa's two mounts. Gallarush had been at the back early on, but Buz On went to the front and led at the first point of call. He held on to the position after a half-mile, but he was barely ahead of Just Aime at that time.

The horses swapped positions, and Just Aime had the lead in the stretch and the potential of being the first longshot winner on the afternoon. But the race was not finished yet.

Buz on and Testa fought back before the wire, and they had enough when all was said and done. After six furlongs of action, the Santa Anita crowd watched as Testa became the first female jockey to not only race there, but win there as well. Those that had Buz On's number printed on their win, place or show tickets had both a winner and a story to tell to friends, families and future generations.

Testa's accomplishment came at what had been an exciting time for female jockeys. Only a couple of weeks earlier, Diane Crump had set her own trailblazing path when she became the first jockey to ride a race in North America a few weeks earlier (she did so at Hialeah). As it turned out, Crump made history of her own the same day Testa did, for she won a race with Bridle N' Bit at Florida Downs en route to becoming the first female jockey to win in the Sunshine State (she would also become the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970).

And they followed the path set by Barbara Jo Rubin, who was the first woman to win a race when she and Fly Away took first in a contest in the Bahamas on January 28. Rubin was not done, however. She soon became the first woman to win at an American racetrack when she rode Cohesian to a score at Charles Town in West Virginia.

All three women began a new era in Thoroughbred racing, and what they achieved back in 1969 cannot be overstated. And in the years since, the sport has seen female riders like Rosemary Homeister, Jr., Julie Krone, Rosie Napravnik, Chantal Sutherland and Emma-Jayne Wilson win races across different tracks.

In that sense, Crump, Rubin and Testa teamed up to foreshadow what Thoroughbred racing would see later in the 20th and 21st centuries in regards to female jockeys having success throughout different circuits in North America.

For Crump and Rubin, they had their moment in the East. And for Testa, who would go on to win more races (as would Crump and Rubin), she rightfully earned her place in history out West.