all in Legends

When Arcangelo sailed across the finish line in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets on June 10, 2023, he gave Jena Antonucci a historic victory as the first woman to train the winner of a U.S. Triple Crown race.

Into each horse’s career comes a fateful moment, a decision or an injury or some outside force that changes the trajectory of their career. For Sir Barton, it was a cough caught from a stablemate. Gallant Fox’s came when Earl Sande agreed to ride the Belair colt in every start of his Triple Crown season in 1930.

As the Kentucky Derby entered its third decade, its future was in doubt. The Louisville Jockey Club was deep in debt, had turned a profit only once in two decades, and clearly needed new leadership if it was to survive.

Women have played key roles in horse racing since the venerable sport’s earliest days.

Yet few women – or men for that matter – at any level of the sport created a legacy that can rival the respect and importance of Marylou Whitney.

Any day, at any racetrack across the country, you’ll most likely find a female jockey in one of the races.

They’ve won Triple Crown races, Breeders’ Cup races and classic races such as the Kentucky Oaks and Pacific Classic. Julie Krone, who won 3,704 races, is enshrined in the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

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