Women Racing: Their Own Words

Women currently occupy a wide variety of extremely significant roles in Thoroughbred racing. Their presence and influence are apparent in every aspect of the sport, which is remarkable when one recalls that hardly more than a generation ago racing was still—as it had been for centuries—almost completely dominated by men. Where did these women come from? What prompted them to penetrate this male bastion and seek such vocations as jockey, trainer, owner-breeder, television commentator, veterinarian, photographer, track official, clocker, chart caller, pari-mutuel clerk, and groom? In Women in Racing, John and Julia McEvoy provided the answers by interviewing eighteen women whose backgrounds ranged all over the socio-economic spectrum, from the landed gentry to former migrant worker, with a rich layer of twenty-first century Americana in between. Donna Barton Brothers, Barbara D. Livingston, Zoe Cadman, and others tell their stories and affirm that they were driven by a shared passion: a love of horses and Thoroughbred racing. This updated edition includes an interview with horse-racing pioneer Diane Crump, the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby.