Julie Krone

Julieanne Louise Krone is the only woman inducted into thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame. Julie, a jockey, was born on July 24, 1963 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Her mother Judi was a riding instructor and her father was an art teacher and photographer. She grew up on a farm with her parents and brother Donnie, who was three years older than she was. When Julie was two years old her mom put her on a horse that she was trying to sell to show the buyer how gentle the horse was. The horse trotted off and soon stopped. Julie grabbed the reins and turned the horse around just like a pro. At the age of five, she led her horse right into the house for her mom to saddle. Julie won her first riding event in a 21 and under competition when she was only five. Then when she was nine, she harnessed a Great Dane and he pulled her while she sat in a sled. Julie dropped out of high school, half way through her senior year, to become a jockey. Her dad wasn't very happy but her mom got her into Tampa Bay Down in Florida. Five weeks after she arrived, in February 1981, she rode her first mount in a race and won! She raced for many years. 

In 1993 she became the first woman jockey to win the Triple Crown and ESPN gave Julie an Espy Award as the year's top female athlete. Two months later Julie was seriously injured in a race. It took nine months to recover. In August 1995 Julie married Matt Muzikar, a television reporter. She also published her autobiography, "Riding for My Life." On January 13, 1996 she took another fall breaking both of her hands. She recovered from that too! She retired on April 18, 1999. She works as a horse-racing analyst. Learning about Julie Krone was a lot of fun!

By Kaitlin & Anthony, third grade, 2001