June, 2018 - Diane Crump - Mint Julep

Diane Crump was born in 1948 in Milford, Connecticut. Her family moved to Oldsmar, Florida, and she began taking riding lessons when she was 13. On February 7, 1969, Crump became the first woman to compete as a professional jockey in the United States. She rode a horse named Bridle 'n Bit at Hialeah Park Race Track. There was so much hostility to a woman riding in a horse race that she needed a police escort to get to the track. Crump ultimately finished 9th in the 12-horse race and returned to cheers of support. Two weeks later, Crump rode her first winning race. She said, “The crowd was just swarming all over me. They were crazy, up in arms. . .The hecklers were yelling: 'Go back to the kitchen and cook dinner.' That was the mentality at the time. They thought I was going to be the downfall of the whole sport, which is such a medieval thought. I was like: 'Come on people, this is the 1960s!‘” The previous year, two women had been forced out of horse races they had entered after male jockeys threw rocks at the trailers used as locker rooms by the women and threatened a boycott. The situation changed at Hialeah because the track officials threatened sanctions against the male jockeys. In 1970, she became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Crump won the first race on the underdcard that day, and then on a horse name Fathom, came in 15th in a 17-horse field in the Derby. By the time she ended her racing career in 1985, she had ridden to 235 wins. In a race in Puerto Rico in the early 1970s, she realized the male jockey behind her was holding onto her saddle, basically getting a free ride during the race. She began to hit him with her stick but he eventually pulled away from her and won the race. Crump retired for a time in 1985 and beginning in 1991 worked as a trainer for a small stable of horses at the Middleburg Training Center in Virginia. She resumed race riding in 1992 and rode races through 1998. She now runs an equine sales business. 

The Drink:

Mint Julep (official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby since 1938)
2oz bourbon
1oz simple syrup
Mint

Drinkability:  3
Drunkability:  4.5
Taxic Diversity:  4
Accessibility:  2
Priority for Conservation:  5

Comments:  Cheers to Dinae Crump! First woman to compete as a professional jockey in the U.S.

From "Female Jockeys" hosted by Fluffy Ruffle