Last week the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs, New York, welcomed its newest inductees – among them jockey Julie Krone, the first woman to receive this honor. Of the mark of distinction Krone said, "I'm extremely happy and I take a lot of pride in being the first female...but being the first female isn't what makes it special for me, it's just the honor of making it into the hall."

Though this award is an accomplishment, it is hardly the first for Julie Krone. Her racing achievements include:

• First woman to win a Triple Crown race, the Belmont Stakes, 1993.
• First woman to secure the Triple Crown (winner of the three major races which fall under the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, and the Belmont Stakes in New York), 1993.
• Career wins: 3,545 (woman's record holder).
• Prize money: $81 million.
• One of only three jockeys to have won five races in a single day at the Saratoga Race Track, New York.

Escorted by her mother, Julie Krone made her way onto the track at the age of fifteen. Told she was too young to be a jockey, her mother made a little "correction" on her birth certificate, and she was off and running!

Other inductees into the Class of 2000 include:

• Trainer – Neil Drysdale, trainer of recent Kentucky Derby winner, Fusaichi Pegasus.
• Contemporary Male – A.P. Indy (for outstanding horses who have been retired for at least five years), 1992 Horse of the Year who retired with 11 wins.
• Contemporary Female – Winning Colors, the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby, she retired with eight wins of nineteen races ran.
• Horse of Yesteryear – Needles, won the Kentucky Derby in 1956, and retired with eleven wins of twenty-one races ran.

Visit the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York to learn more about the history of racing, and see a world-renowned collection of equine art, trophies, and memorabilia.

By Allie J. O'Brien