The mention of female victors in the chariot race is misleading. Neither female competitors nor female spectators were allowed at the ancient Olympics. However, the essential item for the chariot race was the prohibitively expensive four-horse chariot, and the credit for the victory was generally given not to the charioteer, but to his sponsor.

In Sparta, women were allowed to own property, which meant that the richest among them were able to raise racehorses and sponsor chariot teams for the Games just like men. This was a matter of enormous prestige and one of the most ostentatious ways to flaunt one's wealth; it would have been attractive to rich women as a way to establish themselves as prominent members of the leisure class. Spartans in particular, being a professional leisure class, seem to have been very fond of raising horses and sponsoring teams for the Games. Kyniska, sister of king Agesilaos II and arguably among the richest people in Greece, was simply acting like a typical Spartan. However, she would have to be told the result of the race, since she could not attend in person.

The tradition of crediting the sponsor rather than the athlete in the chariot race could lead to other strange things too. To show off his extravagant wealth, the Athenian Alkibiades sponsored no fewer than 7 teams for the Olympics of 416 BC, where even the richest men would normally struggle to send a single one. The result was that Alkibiades came first, second and fourth in the race.