LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby has died.
Diane Crump died on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, according to a post on a GoFundMe by her daughter, Della Payne. She was 77.
Crump was diagnosed a few months ago with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, the GoFundMe page said.
Crump made history in 1969 becoming the first female professional jockey, riding at Hialeah Park Race Track in Florida. She then made history again in 1970 as the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby. She rode Fathom, placing 15th in a field of 17. It'd be another 14 years until another woman rode in Derby, and there have only been a total of six female jockeys in the Derby as of 2025.
"Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams," Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said in a written statement Friday. "As the first female to ride professionally at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and to become the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby one year later, she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore. The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends."
She won 79 races in her career at Churchill Downs between 1969-84.
After retiring from racing, Crump worked as a trainer and in equine sales, turning her love of horses into a business. More recently, Crump devoted herself to animal assisted therapy, volunteering in hospitals and nursing homes with her three dachshunds, Polly, Pipi and Percy, the GoFundMe page said.
Crump's riding shoes and other memorabilia is on display as part of the "Right to Ride" exhibit at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.
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