Julie Krone

Julie Krone Harlan1000 / (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia

Julieann Louise Krone was the most successful female jockey in history. She had a way of making a horse with the worst odds win. Julie Krone is the first female jockey in history inducted into thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame. She has encouraged millions of girls to believe that they can do anything and that there are no boundaries in life. She also changed the way that women are viewed in horse racing.

When Julie was fifteen, she rode in her first professional horse race at the fairground tracks in Michigan. In December of that year, Julie dropped out of high school and moved to Florida so that she could race more. On her eleventh mount, Julie won her first race. After that she won eight more times out of her first forty-eight races. Julie has met many famous jockeys including Julie Stellings. Stellings was the first famous jockey that Krone ever met. Julie moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982. There, she won more races than any other jockey, therefore, becoming the first woman in history to win a racing title at a major track. She performed the same accomplishment the following year. Krone had then made a mark in a sport that had always been dominated by men.

Julie Krone Jack Kendall / (CC BY-NC 2.0) via Flickr

In 1986 Julie Krone earned $2.3 million, which was the highest earnings for a female jockey that year. The year after, Julie recorded 130 wins at Monmouth Park, and 124 wins at the Medowlands, Those totals were the most of any jockey at those tracks. In 1987 she began racing at the track in Aqueduct track in New York. There, she became the first woman to ride four winners in one day. In 1988 Julie became the leading female jockey by winning her 1,205th race. When 1992 came, she had ridden over two thousand winners. In 1993, Julie won the Belmont, one of the legs of the Triple Crown, while riding Colonial Affair. She retired from racing on April 18, 1999.

Julie Krone Phil Konstantin / [Public Domain] via Wikimedia

Julie experienced many injuries in her career. Her first injury was at a race in Laurel; she was thrown from her horse and broke her back. After two months in bed, Julie returned to the track. She went eight races without winning, but in the fall and winter of 1981, she rode more than 100 winners. In 1988 she fell from her mount and was barely able to move for three days, and recovered in a month. A few days after returning from that spill, she fell off again and suffered a concussion. At the Medowlands in 1989, she took a spill that left her with a shattered left arm. In August, 1993, she suffered continuous fractures to her right ankle after falling off her horse on the last day of the Saratoga racing season.

Now, Julie has three saddle horses that she takes very good care of. She finds excitement in riding the waves on her surfboard. She surfs near Del Mar, California. She shares a house there with her husband Jay. Julie still works at several tracks and at Hollywood Park as a commentator.

Julie Krone is a hero because she set out to do something that not many people thought she could do. She is the most well-known female jockey in history. Julie is still alive today. Now, because of her, women are allowed to race without being criticized. I hope that I will be able to meet Julie one day, because I am one of those many girls that she has encouraged to believe that I can be whatever I want to be.