Emma-Jayne Wilson surpassed Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone for all-time purse earnings by a female jockey recently at Woodbine Racetrack in Ontario. Entering the day just $11,000 shy of Krone’s more than $90 million (USD) record, Wilson took her place in racing’s history book with a thrilling victory aboard first-time starter Perfect Lady Bee, for Hall of Fame connections of trainer Roger Attfield and owner Charles Fipke, to surpass Krone’s mark.
Emma-Jayne Wilson joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about the record, her amazing career and her passions.
Wilson let out a rare hearty scream after winning the record-breaking race earlier this month.
"I've been riding for a long time and one thing I think is important is, from each race to the next, you get the focused Emma Wilson ready to win the next race win, lose or draw in the previous race. I have a tendency to take emotions, good and bad, and put them in a box for later. But that scream was a moment of pure joy, pure elation to be able to succeed and done it in that fashion, it meant a lot."
It was also special for the proud Canadian Jockey to break the record at Woodbine.
"Woodbine is really where my dream started to be a jockey and it's where I call home. I was born and raised around the corner from the track itself. My British-born parents would take me to the races all the time when I was a kid. I'd spend my birthday afternoon going to watch the horses compete. Horse racing as a whole has been really great to me. To break the record in this way it's almost like a story book. You couldn't have wrote it any better.
Wilson says trailblazing jockey Julie Krone has always supported her efforts on the racetrack. They both would prefer to be referred to as a jockey, instead of a female jockey.
"You don't say that's a boy jockey. Women were not even allowed on the back stretch 40 or 50 years ago and now we are seen as equals. Julie and her success paved the way for my success and others as well. This is horse racing. The horses are the competitors. We are partners with them. It just about the jockey themselves."
Emma enjoys being a role model for young riders and treasures her encounters with them.
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Emma-Jayne Wilson here.
