AN Ascot-winning jockey who ‘turned heads immediately’ in racing is on the brink of shattering the all-time earnings record.
Emma-Jayne Wilson, 41, is closing in on the colossal target set by legendary female rider Julie Krone.
The famed US jockey, who became the first woman to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair, retired in 2004 having won $90,126,584 – around £71million in today’s cash.
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But Wilson, who at 42 has many years ahead of her in the saddle, is rapidly approaching that target with lifetime earnings of $89,920,723 – just under £71m.
Canadian Wilson, who won the Shergar Cup Mile at Ascot on Jungle Cove in 2002, is also closing in on 2,000 career victories.
Breeders’ Cup-winning rider Krone hailed the ‘awesome’ Wilson and said she’s happy to see someone break her record imminently.
While Wilson said of Krone: “Julie’s success on the racetrack is only surpassed by the first-class person she is off it.
“She is an inspiration to me and so many others.
“I met her early on in my racing career and still have the papers at home.
“I wrote down absolutely everything I could of what she was saying so I’d remember it forever.
“That meant so much to me.”
Wilson has 21 wins from 146 rides in 2024 according to Equibase, with earnings of $759,151 (£599,137).
Her best year in the saddle was in 2008 when she amassed a staggering $8.6m, roughly £6.8m in today’s money.
Not that Wilson’s pays too much attention to that stuff.
Speaking recently on the enormous sums of money she is used to dealing with, married mum-of-two Wilson said: “As a competitor you know who your competition is, you know what you have to do.
“But for me, the numbers, the counting, the statistics aren’t my forte, although I’m aware of where I stand. It’s not my focus, winning races is my focus.”
“I’m one who likes to appreciate and acknowledge significant milestones as they come.
“I’ve been called a trailblazer and I can appreciate that.
“But for the challenges and stigmas I’ve had to face versus what the women who came before me had to face is nothing, and every step is a step closer.
“Without all of the people, and not just women, who came before me and helped break the stigma of gender, it wouldn’t be possible for me to be as successful as I am.
“That’s the same for everything in the world, really, not just horse racing. We’re still breaking boundaries and blazing trails today.”
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