Diane Crump: Run for the Roses by Linda Harris Sittig

The year 2019 will stand out in Derby chronicles due to the controversy when Maximum Security was stripped of the win because of jockey interference. The only other horse to win, then lose the title was Dancer’s Image in 1968 who failed a post-race drug test.

The Kentucky Derby is considered to be one of the most famous horse races in the world. An estimated 18 million viewers watched it on television this past May. Over 150,00 spectators attended the race to see who would win the Run for the Roses with a purse of $3 million.

However, there is another controversy few people know.

In 1970, Diane Crump was the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby, much to the dismay of several male jockeys and a multitude of male spectators.

Her story did not begin in 1970; it started in 1960 when Diane was 12 years old, and her family moved from Connecticut to Oldsmar, Florida. Like many young girls, Diane was fascinated with horses. She convinced her parents to let her have riding lessons at a nearby ranch, and in her spare time, she would go back to the stables and offer to help out.

Each experience around horses only solidified her passion for both the animal and the sport of riding.

This was the ‘60s. Think, Beatles, Bob Dylan, and protests against the Viet Nam War.

Diane did not set out to protest anything; she just wanted to ride, professionally. However, in 1961, women in America were not allowed to obtain a jockey license.

The rules, however, could not stop Diane from being around racehorses. During any free time, Diane would help to exercise horses at local stables or groom them. Eventually, she volunteered at the old Florida Downs track, where she could watch the magnificent animals run.

In January 1969, female trainer Mary Keim nominated Diane for a race, but the horse was not selected.

The following month Diane learned she could ride a horse named Bridle ’N Bit at the Hialeah Race Track, trained by Tom Calumet of Chicago. It was Tom’s wife, Catherine Calumet, who said that Diane Crump should be the jockey. Several male riders threatened to boycott the race, but that did not deter Diane.

The crowds were immense. Over 5,000 came to Hialeah to see the 20-year-girl who would be the first-ever female jockey to ride in a pari-mutuel (gambling-sanctioned) race at a major thoroughbred track.

Diane, wearing the silks, had to shield her eyes from the photographer’s flashbulbs. A full group of policemen escorted her to the track, due to the overwhelming numbers of hecklers in the large crowd; many of whom chanted, ‘Go back to the kitchen and cook dinner!’

As in any race, the air was electrified with possibilities of success. The Florida winter sun warmed the track under a brilliant blue sky. Her heart beating with anticipation, Diane lowered her goggles around her tousled brown hair and raced.

She didn’t win, but as she said later, “we rode well, and we beat two other horses.”

Her shot at the Kentucky Derby came one year later. She rode a three-year-old chestnut colt named Fathom and did not win; yet, in a way she did, becoming the first woman ever to ride in the Derby.

The Kentucky Derby is the longest running sporting event in America. It dates back to 1875 when Meriwether Lewis Clark (grandson of famous explorer William Clark from the Lewis & Clark expedition) procured both the land and the funds to establish a major race track similar to the mode of British racing.

During the inaugural race, 15 horses competed in front of a crowd of 10,000 spectators. Through the years the track would be called Churchill Downs, and in 1925 the race became known as the “Run for the Roses,” because of the garland of red roses worn by the winning horse.

It is still considered to be America’s most prestigious horse race.

When asked about the experience of being the first female jockey to ride in the Derby, Diane said it was a thrill. However, the true joy came from riding the horse, not because she was the first female to enter the event.

During her career of over 30 years of racing, Diane rode 300 winners, in addition to being only one of six women to ever ride in the Kentucky Derby.

After the birth of her two daughters, Diane had to juggle family life with racing. Then in 1992, a nightmare accident with a horse curtailed her riding career.

It had been a normal day, but the horse suddenly reared up and fell over backward, pinning Diane underneath. She had had accidents before, but not to this extent. Her ankle was broken, and her leg bone shattered in six places. It took the doctors over seven hours to pin the ankle, graft bone, and insert a rod into her leg.

Everyone said her riding days were over.

But they weren’t. Diane went on to help train horses and rode again until 1998; then she opened up an equine sales business where she helps buyers find the perfect horse.

What made her a champion? Paraphrased from her words:

“Live your dream. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t or that you’re not good enough. Life gives us something every single day – a chance.”

Strong women often open the door for others.

Thank you to blog-follower Holly Fontaine, who wrote in suggesting Diane Crump’s story. I loved learning about Diane.

Sign up on the right sidebar to become a follower of Strong Women. You can also catch me on Twitter @LHSittig or my webpage, www.lindasittig.com. My two novels Cut From Strong Cloth and Last Curtain Call are available in bookstores and on Amazon at www.amzn.com/1940553024.

~Linda