Queen For A Moment In The Sport Of Kings: First Woman Rider In Kentucky Derby Shares Life Lessons

Over half a century after women jockeys forced open the starting gate, what have we learned, where are we now, and where do we go from here? Perspectives from racing’s first female rider on the unshakeable faith that guided her through the front pages & front lines.

Diane Crump is the owner of many “firsts” for women in horse racing. At age 20, she became the first female jockey in a recognized race, first to ride — and finish in the money — in a stakes race, first to win a stakes race, and was the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970.

Of these historic achievements, Crump herself will tell you matter-of-factly that it was just the way things happened according to God’s plan, while doing what she loved. But between the lines of that comment lies a hard-fought battle by Crump and her peers to break through the wall forged by members of racing’s old boys’ club, on their way to becoming America’s first female jockeys.

https://youtu.be/B8hdNrCK9PE