At any racetrack throughout the nation, you are certain to see feminine jockeys competing in some race day by day.
They’ve received Triple Crown races, Breeders’ Cup races, and marquee stakes such because the Kentucky Oaks and the Pacific Traditional. Julie Krone, winner of three,704 races, is enshrined within the Horse Racing Corridor of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York
However when you return 55 years to the Nineteen Sixties, when America was on the trail to equal rights, you may discover that the jockey’s room was stuffed with males and males alone. It wasn’t till 1968 {that a} small group of decided and brave feminine jockeys, together with Diane Crump, Barbara Jo Rubin, Penny Ann Early, and Kathy Kussner, stood up within the face of prejudice in opposition to them and received a victory by way of the court docket system for the suitable to acquire a jockey’s license.
“Pioneering feminine jockeys are my idols,” stated Jacqueline Davis, who has been a jockey since 2008 and has received greater than 950 races. “They took quite a lot of braveness. I do not know if I’d have been capable of be a profitable jockey again then after going by way of what they did.”
There have been a number of vital firsts as feminine riders turned equal to males, however Crump was acknowledged as the primary girl to compete as a licensed jockey on a racetrack in america.
Crump, who died on January 1, 2026, on the age of 77, undaunted by the hostility that unfold after tearing down the partitions of the lads’s fort, she paved the way in which for future girls’s corps by driving Bridle and Bit in a race at Hialeah Park on February 7, 1969.
“Being the primary feminine jockey has at all times had an affect on me,” Crump stated in a 2017 interview with America’s Greatest Racing. “I’ve a small footprint in historical past that has turned the nook not only for girls’s rights, however for equal rights. It in all probability paved the way in which for equal rights, and that is vital to me. Now in every single place you go, girls have the chance to experience in a automobile, which is nice. It gave all of us the chance to do what’s in our hearts, and that was vital to me.”
Crump’s ardour for horseback driving started as a baby residing in Milford, Conn., the place he rode his first pony. When she was 12 years previous, her household moved to Oldsmar, Florida, not removed from Florida Downs (now Tampa Bay Downs). It did not take lengthy earlier than she began working at close by Lake Magdalene Farm. First she sorted the foals after which helped break down the yearlings for proprietor Nelson Zambito.
When she turned 16 in 1964, she started galloping horses at Florida Downs and some years later additionally started working within the secure space at Gulfstream Park.
“I at all times wished to experience horses, however once I was youthful I wasn’t essentially considering being a jockey,” Crump stated. “I went to Gulfstream to groom and train horses. I used to be working with horses with a few of the greatest jockeys on the time, so I believed I might experience with them. I began fascinated by changing into a jockey, however I did not know what to do. I did not care about that on the time. I used to be younger and studying.”
Issues modified in 1968 when Kussner, a former member of the U.S. Equestrian Staff, sued the Maryland Horse Racing Board beneath the U.S. Civil Rights Act and was granted a license to experience and compete in pari-mutuel races.
Sadly, shortly after successful the case, Kussner suffered a fall damage that interrupted his profession, however it was a giant alternative for Crump. Within the fall of 1968, she was working at Churchill Downs, and Kussner’s authorized victory impressed her to pursue a license.
Though the court docket was sympathetic to her and granted her utility for a license, Ms. Crump confronted fierce opposition from throughout the racing world as jockeys, jockeys and racing officers tried to forestall her and different girls from driving in races. On the time, Crump was working horses for Churchill Downs co-owner WL Lyons Brown, who supported her trigger however requested her to not experience at Churchill Downs, she stated.
“He did not wish to trigger a scene at Churchill Downs,” Crump stated. “He was glad to let me experience in different states.”
As a substitute, jockey Early, who was additionally given a license, rode in three races at Churchill Downs, however every time the male jockeys boycotted and he was pressured to cancel the races. The final race was held in November, and a Chicago Tribune article reported that the actions of the male jockeys have been met with boos and cries of “hen” and “yellow stomach” from disgruntled spectators.
When Kentucky’s racing season ended, Crump returned to Florida, the place he initially discovered the identical local weather. The Florida Horse Racing Fee refused to respect Maryland’s ruling, however misplaced that argument in court docket.
Rubin additionally obtained his license in Florida and rode in a race at Tropical Park on January 15, 1969, however the male jockeys additionally threatened to boycott him. This time, Rubin was changed by a male rider after a rock was thrown on the trailer used as a altering room.
However when the race moved to Hialeah, the local weather was totally different.
“Hialeah was on the point of begin, so I practiced with horses to get my license,” Crump stated. “Then the stewards issued an announcement saying that jockeys who boycotted races can be fined and suspended from all races. They weren’t going to place up with a boycott. It was loopy. We had a proper to experience and so they have been going to verify we had a proper to experience.”
Brown had meant to experience Crump on her horse at Hialeah, however Crump’s historic experience got here as a shock to her.
“It was a irritating time as a result of I knew the day would come once I would experience in a race, however I did not know when it could be. In the future I used to be galloping the horse and one of many jockeys stated to me, ‘Diane, you are on the horse.’ I could not consider it,” she stated. “I did not know coach Tom Calumet, however his spouse instructed him a couple of poor lady who wished to experience that she needed to experience and wished her to experience my horse. So he named me their horse.”
There was immense stress on the then 20-year-old Crump as her first race approached, however she stated she was unfazed by the controversy surrounding her.
“I did not care how the male jockeys felt. I believed they needed to get by way of this,” Crump stated, including that she was not subjected to the identical threats or violence that Rubin was subjected to throughout his failed experience. “I knew this was going to occur and I knew if I caught to my time it could be high quality. I did not really feel any stress main as much as the race as a result of I knew I might do it. I used to be prepared. I rode a horse that nobody else wished to experience. I galloped the horse alongside all of these jockeys. I knew I used to be able to driving the race and I wasn’t nervous. I used to be so excited to get the possibility to experience and do my greatest.”
Crump’s race drew a big crowd, however she paid little consideration to the reward or jeers from the gang.
“The viewers could not consider this was taking place. It was loopy, however I did not notice it,” Crump stated. “I simply appeared straight forward and did not pay attention. I did not care what anybody stated or thought. That is what I wished to do. I knew I might do it and I beloved driving as a lot as anything in life.”
Bridle and Bit completed ninth that day, however it did not actually matter the place they completed within the prime 12. This race turned so vital in horse racing historical past as a result of, after greater than a century of resistance, girls have been lastly capable of carry out a job that had lengthy been reserved for males. However for Crump, the that means instantly hit house.
“I did not care about being a nationwide determine,” stated Crump, who received 228 video games, in keeping with Equibase statistics, throughout a profession that resulted in 1998. “I did not care about that. For me, I solely have one path in thoughts. If I wish to do one thing, I will do it.”
Though Crump blazed a brand new path for girls, her groundbreaking driving did little to vary the business’s angle towards feminine riders. Apart from Brown and coach Don Devine, few jockeys have been prepared to call Crump, or another feminine jockey for that matter, on their horses.
“It was loopy to have folks experience me on horses,” she stated in 2017. “I used to be engaged on horses for folks hoping they might use me in races, however it took me a number of years to get folks to make use of me. I used to be capable of run 30 horses within the morning, however I used to be fortunate to get one further within the afternoon. It was very irritating. I received each race, however it did not matter. I could not experience the horse, I might barely experience it.”There was a time once I received the featured races at Turfway Park for like 14 days in a row, which was actually loopy.
“There was quite a lot of prejudice in opposition to me, and that was troublesome. I rode a number of others, however I did not experience as many as I’d have appreciated. Once I rode within the restricted alternatives I had, I believed I had an excellent race, however I could not capitalize on it. I used to be capable of beat the highest rider within the meet in a stretch duel, however it did not matter. That was the troublesome half.”
Crump stated being shunned by the jockeys and male jockeys at Florida Downs was particularly painful due to her roots there.
“I grew up round Florida Downs, and the primary time I snuck right into a racetrack was once I was 13 or 14,” Crump stated. “I realized to gallop there. I helped folks there. I lived there. However once I rode there, the jockeys there have been meaner to me than the jockeys in Hialeah. They have been the worst, and that harm my emotions probably the most. They have been the folks closest to me. We labored the horses collectively, we broke the horses collectively, and clearly they received over it over time. ”
Along with being acknowledged as the primary girl to experience a horse in a U.S. race, Crump set one other document in 1970 when she turned the primary girl to experience within the Kentucky Derby. Brown and Devine positioned her on Fathom, who completed fifteenth.th I used to be in a area with 17 horses as a part of a Mutuel area, however that one and solely expertise of working for roses was the second I by no means left the clamps.
“The Derby was a protracted shot, so it wasn’t a giant deal. There was loads written about it, however I had been driving it for a yr and folks knew I used to be succesful, so it wasn’t a giant deal. However for me, it was at all times a dream you may have as a jockey. Simply having that have gave me among the finest emotions you possibly can think about. Simply the truth that I used to be there meant a lot to me,” she stated.
Crump was the primary of solely six feminine jockeys to experience within the Kentucky Derby, highlighting within the minds of many within the sport the huge distinction between alternative and equality. However for Crump, a few of the modifications she has witnessed because the struggles of the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies have been notable and intensely gratifying.
“For my first experience in 1969, I needed to change on the HBPA workplace in Hialeah. By the Seventies at Florida Downs, there have been trailers within the parking zone. Then, once I rode my final race, the jockey room had been expanded and it was 50-50 women and men. It was equal. I believed that was cool and I used to be glad to exit figuring out that was the scenario,” Crump stated. “It began with one lady after which I noticed a day the place Jockey Colony included so many ladies and I beloved it. I believed it was nice.”
Jockeys like Davis additionally perceive and recognize the modifications Crump and others have created.
“I feel there’s nonetheless a false impression that male jockeys are stronger than feminine jockeys, however issues aren’t like they have been a number of a long time in the past. I am unable to think about what they have been by way of. As feminine jockeys, we nonetheless have a approach to go, however we have come a great distance and we have been capable of make nice strides due to the ladies who fought for us a long time in the past,” Davis stated. “I do know that I’m able to work right here as a jockey due to the ladies who have been lively within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies.”
And in some methods, Diane Crump might be remembered as the primary.
Notice: This story was initially printed in 2017 and has been up to date. Diane Crump handed away on January 1, 2026 on the age of 77.
Attention-grabbing info about Diane Crump
- Crump married Devine, who educated Fathom, however they later divorced.
- Jockey Crump stated he was so nervous when he entered the beginning gate for his first race at Breidlnvit that he wasn’t carrying goggles and needed to remind jockey Craig Perrett to place them on.
- Crump’s first win got here with Briedlumbit at Florida Downs, however the win was vacated shortly afterward as a result of the horse raced at one other racetrack whereas Hialeah was nonetheless open, a violation of horse racing legislation.
- Certainly one of Crump’s most well-known rides got here at a match race in Puerto Rico within the early Seventies. In the course of the race, Crump seen that his opponent’s jockey was clinging to his horse, and the race turned a real battle of the sexes between the 2 jockeys. “It was loopy,” she stated. “Once I noticed what he was doing, I punched him. He took my leg out of the stirrup. I grabbed his reins. It was a wire combat between us. I misplaced the race, however the followers have been behind me. I do not know the place they received them, however once we received again they bombarded that man with tomatoes and eggs.”
- Based on Equibase, Crump’s stats are 1,682 fights, 228 wins, and $1,292,003 in earnings.
- Crump took a sabbatical from driving from 1985 to most of 1992. Throughout that point, she operated a coaching barn at Calumet Farms.
- She additionally labored as a coach from 1991 to 1998, successful 14 races in 247 begins and driving horses continuously.
- Along with Crump, different girls who’ve ridden within the Kentucky Derby are Patricia Cooksey, Andrea Seefeldt, Krone, Rosemary Homester Jr., and Rosie Napravnik.
