Remembering Diane Crump; first woman to ride in Kentucky Derby

She was a trailblazer on the track, remembered for a long list of 'firsts' in the thoroughbred racing industry.

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Diane Crump died last week, just months after being diagnosed with glioblastoma. She was 77 years old.

Crump is remembered for making history in the horse racing industry. She was the first female professional jockey to ride at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and then became the first woman to race in the Kentucky Derby one year year, in 1970.

"Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams," Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said Friday. "The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends."

Anderson went on to say she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing after winning more than 70 races at Churchill Downs throughout her 15-year career in the sport.

Once her time on horses was done, Crump leaned into her love of the animal and worked in equine sales and training.

Crump's legacy in horse racing is on full display at the Kentucky Derby Museum, within the Right to Ride Exhibit.

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