Julie Krone

Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Julie Krone rode her first horse when she was just two years old. At five years old, she won her first ribbon at a horse show-in an 18-and-under event. Sleeping with her whip, dreaming of racing, riding before school-this was the life of a little girl whose only dream was to be a jockey. Forging her birth certificate to gain access to the track at Churchill Downs as an exercise rider, and talking her way into mounts, it was not long until Julie was racing-and winning. From the start, sexism against Julie was fierce. Male riders colluded against her, closing gaps and boxing her horse in by the rail. Though kind and patient with her horses, Krone competed ferociously against her fellow male jockeys. When Yves Truscott knocked into her horse during a race in 1982, she shoved him off the scales during the post-race weigh in. She punched Miguel Rujano in 1986 after his whip hit her ear during a race, before belting him with a chair. In 1989, she was fin