Though it has only been a relatively short time frame that women have been allowed to participate in the sport of horse racing as trainers and jockeys, we have had the opportunity to watch their stars on the rise as they have taken to the track with winning pride. Below are just a few of the international women of horse racing who have stepped up to make their countries proud in this historical and revered international sport.
Julie Krone (USA)
Regarded as one of America’s most successful female jockeys, Julie Krone was involved in horse racing from a very young age. Like many jockeys on the circuit, Julie was introduced to the sport through her parents showing horses. Making her debut at the Tampa Bay Downs in 1981, it only took a month for Krone to collect her first win. She went on to have an extremely successful career in the field of horse racing and holds the esteemed title as the first and only female to ever win the Belmont Stakes amongst many other notable wins.
Rachael Blackmore (Ireland)
Blackmore, having grown up around horses in her native Ireland, began her career as a jockey in 2015 after completing a degree in Equine Science. Her career wasn’t an immediate success but to her credit Rachael stuck with her dreams, finally achieving her first Grade 1 win in 2019. Blackmore is still an active and riding jockey to this day and continues to compete and win. Her most recent victory as a well-regarded woman in horse racing was to become the first-ever female jockey to win the Grand National in 2021. Her courage and commitment to continuing in a heavily male-dominated industry is to be highly commended as she continues her very successful career.
Rachael King (Australia)
Rachael King began her career in the racing industry as an assistant to a prominent UK racehorse owner Colin Cox and though she grew up in the UK, Rachael’s horse racing career did not begin until she trekked to the other side of the world to begin her life in Australia. Though she may have grown up dreaming of winning Royal Ascot, it is near to her home at the Randwick Racecourse that King achieved her first success as a jockey. 2019 was the year that Rachael started taking big wins and though Manikato Stakes odds and many other racing odds were against her, King defied all naysayers to take the wins. After forming a partnership with renowned legacy trainer James Cummings, Rachael has become an unstoppable force who is expected to achieve greatness in the 2021 Australian Spring Racing Carnival.
Hayley Turner (UK)
Turner is regarded as a powerhouse on the racetracks of the UK. In 2019 she became the first woman to win at Royal Ascot in England for 32 years and is now considered to be the most successful female jockey in flat racing in the entire United Kingdom. Turner has continued to achieve records in her career including being the first woman to win over 100 flat races in a year and has been appointed an Officer to the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the horse racing industry.
Though women actively participating in the sport of horse racing has only been approved since the early 70s, these incredible women are a testament to what dreams and commitment can help you to achieve.