Top Canadian jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson made history in the fifth race at Woodbine July 11, breaking Hall of Famer Julie Krone’s all-time purse earnings record for a female jockey, and you couldn’t have scripted it any better.
Riding 3-year-old filly Perfect Lady BeeĀ for Canada’s most accomplished trainer, Canadian and United States Hall of Famer Roger Attfield, and Canadian Hall of Fame owner-breeder Charles Fipke, Wilson asked her first-time starter for more in early stretch and Perfect Lady Bee’s legs surged upwards and forwards, straining for more, as if she were reaching for destiny. She was.
And together, they caught it.
“That was the moment when she said, ‘Oh, I get what we’re doing,'” said Wilson, who knew exactly when her maiden became a racehorse.
Perfect Lady Bee finished with a determined stretch-long rally, winning by three-quarters of a length over One Front WarĀ . The victory moved Wilson to the top in lifetime purse earnings among female jockeys, and she finished the Thursday card with $90,153,109, surpassing Julie Krone’s mark of $90,126,584.Ā
Emma-Jayne Wilson, pictured at Woodbine, celebrates breaking Hall of Famer Julie Krone’s all-time purse earnings record for a female jockey
After the race, Wilson didn’t have time to be emotional, but the significance of the moment was etched on her face. Perfect Lady Bee became a handful in response to the record-breaking sign brought in for the event. Wilson had to pay attention, as she also had to ride the next race. Once dismounted, she engaged in a brief interview with Woodbine’s Jeff Bratt, and you could sense her feelings rising to the surface but never quite spilling over.
“I’m over the moon,” Wilson said later Thursday evening. “It couldn’t have been written any better. I’m not sure I even have the right words for the moment. To eclipse the record with a win, with those connections, was a poignant moment.”
Wilson emphasized that her record-setting performance was a long time in the making and that she had many people to thank.
“This is a result of hundreds of owners, trainers, grooms, the media, my family, the racetracks, and everyone else who supported me over decades. It’s not just the wins; it’s all the second, third, fourth, and fifth-place finishes. Everything counts. I greatly appreciate the support I have received from everyone in the industry.”
Julie Krone sent a heartfelt and congratulatory video message after the race. Attfield, 17-time leading New York trainer Gary Contessa, trainer Ian Black, and Nick Smith, director of racing at Ascot Racecourse in England, also praised Wilson and her record-setting performance.
Game recognizes game. A message for @EJWilson81 from Julie Krone, the previous highest earning female jockey. pic.twitter.com/COhSIEVLHf
ā Woodbine Racetrack (@WoodbineTB) July 11, 2024
“Congratulations on breaking my record for money won by women jockeys,” said Krone. “I am so proud of you. Now I can be the one that has races won, and you can be the one that has money won, and we can hang out, and it’s more fun hanging out with your girlfriends. That was just an amazing accomplishment. You are such a beautiful horseman. You are so talented. It’s a pleasure to share the stage with you.”
Riding during an era of lower purses, Krone retired in 2004, the same year Wilson began riding, with gaudy numbers that appeared impenetrable. She compiledĀ a record of 3,704-3,216-2,913 from 21,412 mounts and the aforementioned earnings record, as well as becoming the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown Race aboard Colonial Affair in the 1993 Belmont Stakes, and the first to win a Breeders’ Cup race when she was victorious aboard Halfbridled in the 2003 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Woodbine’s Jeff Bratt asked Wilson what it meant to her, to hear from Krone.
“Julie has been a true supporter of mine right from the get-go,” said Wilson. “Even when she got wind of the potential of me breaking the record this year, she’s been messaging me relentlessly to show her support. And it’s an absolute honor, as she said, to be able to share this record with her. To take a step back, this is to show how far the industry has come since she started, and even before, to show what equality and sportsmanship is, and what it means.”
While Krone was beating the best in the sport in the biggest races, Wilson was just getting started, but she had obvious talent from the outset. She won with her second career mount, Ali Olah, on Aug.28, 2004, at Fort Erie, and her third mount, Tudy’s Choice, on Sept. 3, 2004, at Woodbine, and she was on her way.
In 2005 Wilson won 180 races, became the first woman ever to win the Woodbine riding title, and was honored with a Sovereign Award as Outstanding Apprentice and an Eclipse Award as the Champion Apprentice in the United States. Wilson won a second Sovereign Award as Canada’s Outstanding Apprentice in 2006, and the winning didn’t stop there.
Mike Fox, under Emma-Jayne Wilson, wins the 2007 Queen’s Plate at Woodbine
First Female Jockey to Win the Queen’s Plate Ā
In 2007, Wilson became the first female jockey to win the Queen’s Plate aboard Mike FoxĀ for trainer Ian Black.
“No one else would have won that race,” said Black, who managed Canada’s famed Kinghaven Farm for 30 years before becoming a trainer.
“Between the three-eighths and the quarter pole, I thought, maybe we can be third, and then as they came down the stretch, I thought, maybe we can get second, and then he just came and got the money. I’d take Emma over anybody here from the eighth pole home. She’s just a very, very strong finisher. And she’s a good all-round jockey.
“She won the Pan American (G2T) for me at Gulfstream Park. She also finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) for me with Excaper. She started riding in 2004, and I’ve used her from the word go. The other amazing thing, especially with jockeys nowadays, is that she’s had the same agent, Mike Luider, for the whole time, which is somewhat of a rarity. We’ve had good luck together.
“Julie Krone was an amazing rider, but Emma’s done it the hard way too. She’s been hurt a few times, but she’s a fitness nut and very dedicated. She’s ridden a lot of horses and the purses look good here, but when you convert them to American dollars they’re not quite as good. And when Emma rides horses, she tells you the truth. That’s very valuable.
“I would consider her a friend. We were down in Florida this winter, and Emma and her wife (Laura Trotter) and their two kids (Grace and Avery) came out to visit us and go for a walk with the dogs in the park. She’s just a genuine person, and I’m thrilled for her.”
Accolades from 17-time Leading New York Trainer
Gary Contessa, a 17-time leading trainer in New York and president of the Exceller Fund, also praised Wilson and her record-setting performance.
“I love it,” said Contessa. “Emma’s one of my favorite jockeys, and she’s one of my favorite people. I’m very, very close with her. Love that girl. I think records were made to be broken, and I think it’s a good thing that she broke Julie’s record. She’s very deserving of that. It didn’t come easy, and I think that she deserves all the accolades she gets for that.
“Emma is my rider of choice. I really like the way she rides. I like the way she can ride any type of horse. Some jockeys are good at one thing and not so good at another. Emma adapts to every type of horse. She’s great at riding a baby. She’s great riding a horse that needs a light touch. She’s great at riding a horse you need to be heavy-handed on. I mean, she’s just a really good rider. I observed her for a long time and then had the opportunity to ride her. And I can honestly say I’ve never had a complaint about any of her rides.
“I grew up with Julie Krone, and she was the same kind of rider. She could ride anything. Women today are much more accepted in this business than they were back in the day. When Julie was riding, the men were, let’s say, for lack of a better term, annoyed by her success. Those jocks worked very hard to thwart her efforts to win. She had the added problem of having to overcome the way the men treated her.
“They did everything they could to stop her from winning, and she won anyway. So she was an amazing rider. And I’m sure if Emma were riding back then, and I’m sure she still faces it today, but it’s not as apparent, she would have done the same thing. She always seems to be in the right place at the right time and gives you a chance to win. And she succeeds. Julie and Emma are incredibly alike, and horses run for both of them.
“I had an owner who was very particular about jockeys. His name was Lee Pokoik. I campaigned a bunch of graded winners for Lee, and I named Emma on one of his horses, Arch Support. He called me and said, ‘Gary, who the hell is Emma-Jayne Wilson?’ And I said, ‘Lee, trust me, watch the race. Don’t get mad at me. If she blows this race, I won’t charge you to train your horses this month. Well, she rode the best race ever. She was trapped behind horses, she gets out and wins the race at 30-1. After that, Lee told me, ‘I want Emma-Jayne Wilson on everything.’
“Lee had his own plane. He used to fly from Saratoga to the Toronto airport, pick up Emma, and fly her back to Saratoga to ride one or two horses for us. And then after the race, he’d fly her back to Canada. We flew her in and she ran second on a longshot for us in a stake in Saratoga. And then I shipped into Canada and she won the stake up there. So we’ve had a lot of success over the years.
“I’d just like to say that she’s a hell of a rider. There is no gender bias when it comes to Emma-Jayne Wilson. She can ride any horse for me anytime.”
International Success, 1,000 Wins, and the Shergar Cup
In 2007, Wilson became the first female ever to compete in the Hong Kong Jockey Challenge against 10 elite jockeys from nine countries. In 2011, she won the inaugural Pimlico Female Jockey Challenge, donating her earnings to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
In 2012, Wilson became only the second Canadian woman to break the 1,000-win barrier, passing Francine Villeneuve as Canada’s all-time winningest female rider. And in 2015, Wilson and fellow jockeys Haley Turner and Sammy Jo Bell became the first female team to win the Shergar Cup at the prestigious Ascot Racecourse in England, with more Shergar Cup victories to follow.
“What Emma has achieved is absolutely phenomenal,” said Smith. “Given that she was riding at a time when it was very difficult for women to showcase themselves in the sport. Thanks to the things that Emma has done, it’s a much easier pathway for young women and girls to come into the profession of riding racehorses.
“There’s never been anyone as high profile as her in Canada, and her global reputation is significant now on the back of her participation in several renewals of the Shergar Cup. I’m delighted for her, for what she’s achieved, and what she’s achieving. I’m sure that’s a sentiment the whole British public would join me in.
“I’ve known Emma for 15 years or so, probably longer. She’s ridden in our jockey competition, the Shergar Cup, which takes place every August, five, six, maybe seven times. She’s always been absolutely brilliant whenever she’s come over. Fantastic with the media, great rider, very popular.
“The people seem to love the Shergar Cup because it’s a unique formatāa team event for jockeys, which is not something that any other country puts on. Emma has ridden in the competition in many of its iterations, and she, alongside Hayley Turner, who I would say is our equivalent of Emma, has been instrumental in making the ladies’ team at the Shergar Cup so successful.
“I remember when we had our first renewal with a specific ladies’ team, there were comments saying it was a novelty and wouldn’t last, but now we have a list every year of 20 to 30 jockeys clamoring to be on the team. Emma and Hayley were there from the start fighting to make this happen.
“I see Emma every time I go to Canada. We have lunch and dinner, catch up, talk about family things. We’re good friends. She’s genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever worked with, one of the best human beings, one of the nicest people, one of the most proficient people with the media I’ve ever seen. What she’s done for Canadian racing and what she’s done for world racing on and off the track is beyond compare. Emma’s excellence, her sense of responsibility towards the industry, her understanding of her role as a model for young women growing up, is second to none. Absolutely second to none.
“Emma and Hayley Turner have really led the way. They know they have to promote the sport, not just from the position of being a female rider, but from the position of defending and promoting it, especially as it comes under fire more and more in this era. They play a crucial part in educating people and bringing them along.
“We’ve had some good jockeys in the Shergar Cup over the years. I mean, we’re lucky that most high-profile jockeys do want to ride in it. But I’ve always said, and I’ve only ever said it to one other person, and that’s Hayley. I said to Emma, ‘As long as you’re riding, there’s always a space for you. You’re on the team. Just let me know if you can ride.’
“At this moment in time, with all the pressures that Emma has had in chasing these records and protecting her standing, and her contract, and her relationships with her owners and Woodbine, it’s harder for her to commit every year. But I let her know that if she wants to ride, we’ll build the team around her.”
Early Beginnings of an Exceptional Career
Wilson’s inspiration to become a jockey was purely the horses, but she also had a competitive streak at a young age, and it still burns today.
“I’ve always been a competitor,” said Wilson. “Big in sports, extremely competitive within my family. I mean, playing board games at home with my sisters, I just wanted to win everything all the time. And I loved riding. I loved horses. So combining those two was just perfect.”
Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson and Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield share a laugh in 2023 as the trainer and his pony escort her mount Twowaycrossin during morning training at Woodbine
Wilson took riding lessons when she was young, and her love for horses developed from there. Her parents are from Britain, where horse racing was an integral part of the local culture.
“We used to go to the races because I loved horses, and they knew how competitive I was,” said Wilson. “I was the only one in my family born in Canada. My parents came to Canada in 1981, and we’ve been here ever since. My two older sisters were born in Britain.”
Wilson fell in love with the game, the jockeys, the horses, and thought, ”I could do that. I want to do that,ā and she knew she was just the right size at 5′ 2″, 112 pounds. Everyone knew her dream was to become a jockey, but making that dream a reality wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“I wasn’t prepared for what was required of me,” said Wilson. “I didn’t realize the strength that was required. But my fire was lit. I went where the horses were, started working within the industry to learn more about the horses, to be better prepared, and my experience improved significantly.”
Wilson took her first job at the track in 2003 with trainer Cliff Hopmans, who asked trainer Attfield if he could give her a job for the winter in Florida. Wilson went to work for Attfield at Payson Park in Florida, where Luider, a former trainer, spotted her one morning.
“You could see it right away,” said Luider. “There was just something special about her, the way she carried herself. I remember telling someone she was going to be a star someday. They asked me if I thought she could be leading rider and I said ‘Yes’.”
“She came down to Florida with us and was very, very conscientious right from the get-go,” said Attfield. “So I took a great liking to her and she was always trying to improve herself. Anytime we went to the races with a horse, she would come down and help go to the paddock with the horse. She’d sneak into the jocks’ room and watch films and listen to their conversations. The next year she went and rode in those training races in New Orleans. She was always trying to learn, always trying to achieve what she ended up achieving.
“It was obvious that she was going to make it to some degree because she was just so conscientious about it all. She still is. She’s ridden a number of stakes winners for me over the years, but Lady Speightspeare was special, she gave me my 2,000th winner in the Nassau Stakes.”
Advocacy for Gender Equality
Wilson is a huge advocate for gender equality in sports, and her record-setting performance will enhance the ability of everyone to get that message out.
What Record Breaking sounds likeā¦ š@EJWilson81 pic.twitter.com/KWTuEgaxji
ā Woodbine Racetrack (@WoodbineTB) July 11, 2024
“One of the biggest things is preconceived notions about a rider’s abilities based on their gender,” said Wilson. “I was told, ‘Girls can’t ride. They’re not strong enough.’ They didn’t even know who I was. How can you tell me that I’m not strong enough when you don’t even know who I am? And that was a big misconception I wanted to prove wrong. I wanted to strive to be one of the strongest riders out there.
“In this particular scenario, it’s not really about the milestone of passing Julie’s record of earnings, it’s more that I get to join her at the top and share that accomplishment. When you think about the significance of what this means, this is one of those moments where gender equality is brought to the forefront. We can look back at this and think about the achievements and the success that Julie had and the path she paved for us.
“My success wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the hurdles Julie overcame. So it’s not about besting the record she held, it’s about sharing and advocating. We’re both really strong advocates for equality for women in sport and in racing. It’s about showcasing this equality and how far we have come in racing. Horsemanship transcends gender.
Reflecting on the progress of women in horse racing, Wilson is optimistic. “The role of women in racing has been well established. You see top trainers who are women. You see top jockeys all around the world who are women. It’s just a matter of us knocking down barriers and being the first female to succeed in this or that. Racing is massive internationally, and there are countless international races and graded stakes, and we’re going to win them. Racing has absolutely gone in the right direction, and females are becoming more prominent in sport.”
A respected ambassador for the sport, she received the coveted Avelino Gomez Memorial Award in 2018, which honors significant contributions to the sport by a jockey.
Surrounded by friends and fellow riders, Emma Jayne Wilson receives the 2018 Avelino Gomez Award for outstanding jockey contribution at Woodbine
Love and Favourite Horses
“I love the horses,” said Wilson. “I try to treat them with the same kind of quality that I’m trying to promote. There’s a level of communication and respect, where you’re on the same page. In some ways, it’s completely unspoken, like the connection I had with Just Rushing was, next level.
“Just Rushing was amazing. He won seven in a row for me including a stake. He was just an incredible athlete, a true competitor. He tried so hard, no matter what. The connection I had with him was like… the only way I can describe it is if two people are playing sports and they may not even know each other, but they can read what the other is going to do. It was almost like that.
“Classic Stamp was also a special horse for me. She was my first stakes winner and I had a connection with her. I galloped her for a long time, and then to be successful on the big stage with her meant a great deal.”
World ClassāFull Circle
Wilson had time to reflect on her accomplishment in the evening after setting her new world record aboard a horse trained by Attfield, the same trainer who had helped her when she was first starting outābefore she had even ridden in a race. And she did it aboard a horse from the family of one of her first graded stakes winners, Lady SpeightspeareĀ , also conditioned by Attfield.
Wilson has now won 129 stakes, including 39 of the graded variety, and compiled a career record of 1,902-2,029-1,922 from 14,298 mounts.
“I congratulate her wholeheartedly,” said Attfield. “Nobody deserves it more than Emma. To accomplish something like this is really something special. Julie Krone was a great rider. She was a hard-working person, too, and very conscientious. They both had tremendous natural ability, but it still had to be honed. It’s a tough, tough life for a jockey. They have to be very, very fit, and they’ve got to look after their diets and quite a few other things to stay on top.
“So that makes it even more meaningful, the longevity of it all. it’s difficult to do, and it’s a great honour when you do it, so absolutely well deserved. And when you ride somebody like Emma, you know you’re going to get a true ride.
“I’ve always been very proud of her.”