Female jockeys vie for a place in male-dominated horse racing at Mexico City’s hippodrome

Elisabeth Garrido stacks bales of hay into the shape of a horse, straps reins around a mock head and sets off on an imaginary but energetic ride, whipping the hay with a riding crop.

It's part of the do-it-yourself training for her dream: to be one of the few women ever to become a full-fledged jockey at Mexico's only major horse racetrack, and perhaps move north of the border as well.

"The hay is heavy but you have to be strong to ride a horse," said Garrido, who resorts to hay bales because she doesn . . .