Diane Crump, First Female Kentucky Derby Jockey, Dies at 77

Diane Crump, the pioneering female jockey who became the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970, died on January 2, 2026, in Winchester, Virginia, at age 77. Diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer in October 2025, she passed away in hospice care. Crump made history on February 7, 1969, at Hialeah Park in Florida, becoming the first woman to ride professionally in a U.S. horse race, protected by security guards amid crowd chaos and male jockey boycotts. She won 228 races before retiring in 1998. Crump finished 15th in the 1970 Kentucky Derby on Fathom but paved the way for future female jockeys. After retiring, she ran a horse brokerage in Virginia and volunteered with therapy dogs. She will be cremated and interred in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Front Royal, Virginia.