Female jockey Julie Krone is a “Freak”

I was delighted to read that award-winning filmmaker Katherine Brooks (”Loving Annabelle,” 2006, and “Waking Madison,” 2009) is making a film based on legendary female jockey Julie Krone.  The film is called “Freak,” which refers to a racing term for horses who win over and over, even when they shouldn’t.

When it comes to horses, Krone is indeed a freak of nature. The film is an adaptation of her autobiography, “Riding for My Life”, which chronicles her rise to fame and unparalleled success as a jockey. A vivid look at the world of horse racing, “Freak” aims to explore one woman’s battle against sexual inequality in a classic tale of an underdog’s passage toward victory.

Dubbed the winningest female jockey in history, Krone is the only woman to be inducted into thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame.  She won 3,704 professional races, totaling over $90 million in prize money.

Krone is still the only woman to have won a Triple Crown race, flying across the finish line atop Colonial Affair in the 125th running of the Belmont Stakes in 1993. She’s also the only woman to ever compete at Belmont, where she raced on five occasions.

To achieve success, however, Krone had to overcome fierce obstacles. During her career,  Krone faced intense chauvinism in additon to suffering major injuries, including six fractures in her vertebrae, broken hands and cracked ribs.

For a long time, women didn’t even have the option of competing professionally because they weren’t legally allowed to ride at a track.  It wasn’t until 1968 that women were finally allowed to race, but they were prevented from doing so when male jockeys threatened to boycott the races.

Following in the footsteps of a handful of women before her, including Diana Crump who became the first woman to race professionally, Krone blazed her way to success. It wasn’t easy making a mark in the male-dominated “Sport of Kings” and for a long time no one took the petite (4′ 11”)  blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl seriously.

When a guy slashed Krone’s ear with a whip, she broke his nose. When people called her names, she looked the other way.  To the world, she was fearless. But inside, she was alone. The hardship fueled her desire to succeed even more. “Freak” is Krone’s heartfelt story.

According to IMDB, Brooks was initially against adapting Freak because she is a PETA member and spent much of her life rescuing injured horses off the track. It wasn’t until she met Krone and read her auto-biography, that she felt she could focus more on the intimate struggles of the character than the sport of racing. This is clearly a multi-layered story which promises lots of action and drama.

“Freak”, scheduled to shoot on location  in New York and Louisiana, is being produced by Sophie Watts of Gravity Films with an anticipated release around spring 2011. You can follow the progress via the film’s Facebook page or Twitter.

Official Website

Gozzip Girl the talk of the track

No, not that Gossip Girl. While GG is on summer hiatus from TV, it has become clear that females have taken over as the stars in thoroughbred racing.

The latest filly to strut her stuff is Gozzip Girl, a 3-year-old who overwhelmed a 14-horse international field in the Grade I $700,000 American Oaks on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

Gozzip Girl, ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, shifted gears in the stretch and unleashed an explosive finishing kick for a decisive 3 1/4 -length victory over Well Monied, completing the 1 1/4 miles on the turf in 2:00.22.

The victory was the first in a Grade I race for Gozzip Girl, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Dynaformer.

She won the Grade II Sands Point at Belmont on the turf in her last start and has won on dirt and synthetic surfaces in scoring her fifth victory in eight lifetime starts.

Gozzip Girl joins the 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra and the 5-year-old unbeaten mare Zenyatta as part of a trio of exceptional females in training. A fourth outstanding filly, Life Is Sweet, figures to be the favorite in Saturday’s Grade I $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on the Cushion Track.

Be sure to keep your eye on all these girls. xoxo

New reality show takes viewers into lives of Jockeys

Move over, Heidi Klum and Paris Hilton. You’ve got company on reality television.

The thrills. The spills. The rivalries and romances. And yes, the racing, too. It’s all there in a new 12-part documentary television series, “Jockeys,” that begins tonight, Feb. 6, at 9 p.m. EST on Animal Planet.

The series, which will be broadcast in high definition in two half-hour episodes each Friday over the next six weeks, promises to take the viewer inside the world of jockeys in a way that nothing has before. Filmed mostly during last fall’s Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita, the previews for the series seem to focus on the danger aspect of the profession. But all the angles will be covered, both on and off the track, promise the show’s executive producers  Liz Bronstein and Tina Gazzero.

The seven jockeys – Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Canadian import Chantal Sutherland, teenager Joe Talamo, veterans Jon Court, Aaron Gryder and Alex Solis, and Australian newcomer Kayla Stra – agreed to allow the cameras to follow them both at the track and in their private lives believing the series will give horse racing much needed exposure to the general public.

The riders are seen scrambling to secure mounts for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races, where purses range from $1 million to $5 million. Winning just one of the races can set a jockey up for a good year financially and lend prestige to their resume.

Some of the jockeys wore microphones while riding, allowing viewers rare audio of their adrenaline-charged comments.

So what’s it like for an athlete who barely weights 100 pounds to ride a 1,200-pound animal at speeds up to 40 mph in a 2-minute race? Find out in tonight’s episode, “Win or Die Trying.”

Girls’ sports games now available on Nintendo DS

November 7, 2008 - It’s game on for tween girls.

Though we haven’t tested them yet, Ener-G video games are being marketed as the first brand of sports games targeted toward girls.

The titles supposedly focus as much on gameplay as on socialization and allow girls to experience the fun of being part of a team. The games in the series feature three popular activities: dancing, gymnastics and horseback riding. 

In a press release, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft Tony Key says, “The Ener-G games will not only satisfy parents, but they also give tween girls a new outlet through which they can express their creativity and love for sports.”

We think girls have enough outlets for creativity and really want to kick some butt but will reserve judgement until we’ve actually played the games which include:

Ener-G Dance Squad
lets girls reveal their dancing potential by working with a coach to develop new steps and choreograph dances by combining the coolest moves.

Ener-G Gym Rockets 
lets girls live the life of a young gymnast, as they twist, tumble and twirl in five events, including floor, uneven bars and balance beam, on the way to the World Gymnastics Championships.

Ener-G Horse Rider
lets players create and train their own horse, enter competitions, ride around the open countryside and even tame wild horses.

Two game modes are available. Girls can play through story mode or try their skills in challenge mode.  It’ll be interesting to note which mode is more popular.

Rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, the first three Ener-G titles are on store shelves now at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $29.99.

Check out the site  –  www.ener-ggame.com  –  for a peek at the gameplay and graphics and a bit of online fun.  Like what you see? Might make a good stocking stuffer this holiday season.

Eight Belles takes on the boys

May 2, 2008 – The Kentucky Derby, set to go on Saturday, will play host to  the best filly in the land, Eight Belles, who will take on the colts in the mile-and-a quarter classic. Suddenly, the run for the roses has a whole new look- with the distinct possibility of making history. Will she be the belle of the ball?

Only three fillies have won the Derby in its 134-year history. The first was Regret in 1915, the second was Genuine Risk in 1980 and the latest heroine, Winning Colors, scored 20 years ago in 1988. Thirty-five other fillies have tried to win the Derby and failed.

Entering a filly in America’s greatest horse race is, of itself, no small deal. The Kentucky Derby is loaded with tradition, part of which dictates that usually only colts run in America’s greatest race. The fillies have their own showcase on Derby eve, the Kentucky Oaks.

What makes Eight Belles’ appearance special and exciting is that she has a bright chance of winning. She has the speed, the performance, the staying pedigree and the massive frame to clobber colts.

And as if that were not enough, Eight Belles comes from the same owner, Rick Porter, and the same trainer, Larry Jones, who put the buzz in last year’s Triple Crown with their terrific speedster Hard Spun, who finished second in the Derby, third in the Preakness and fourth in the Belmont.

Jones made no secret of why he wants to tackle the Derby with Eight Belles. “All the boys are vulnerable,” he said. “There isn’t one that sticks out above the others. Every one of them is being asked to do something they have not done before.”

Eight Belles, who will be ridden by Gabriel Saez, a gifted 20-year-old Panamanian making his Derby debut as well, has won her last four races. She won those races, including the Honeybee and the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park, by a combined 30½ lengths. She has a perfect running style for the Derby, a stalker who sits just off the leaders. The filly turned in Sunday’s second-fastest workout, running 5 furlongs in 58.20 on the dirt at Churchill Downs.

A little girl power mixed with a great underdog story. Watch out boys!

Editors Note: On Derby Day, Eight Belles did  hang with the boys.  She ran the race of her life but all that heart and her gallant fight, which ended with a second place finish, ended in the worst possible way:  two broken ankles and no other choice but euthanization. RIP Eight Belles.

AI says goodbye to Kristy Lee Cook

April 17, 2008 -  American has voted, and decided there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Last night, Kristy Lee Cook’s American Idol run ended.

We picked Kristy Lee early on, not because she had the best voice or we’re big country music fans, but we loved the fact that she’s an equestrian and martial artist who also loves softball. This gutsy gal showed class from the beginning.

Apparently Kristy failed in her first Idol tryout in July, in San Diego, and in true competitive style decided she wanted to give it another shot the next month in Philly. She didn’t have money to buy a cross country plane ticket so she sold a barrel horse she had trained and the rest, as they say, is history. It was mentioned on the show that she’s tried to buy the horse back but the new owner isn’t willing to sell :-(.

Kristy’s AI run was marked by a number of stays in the bottom three so it didn’t come as a huge surprise though she would have liked to make it to the top 5 (she was 7th). She went out in style and on a happier note Wednesday night, Cook’s boyfriend proposed (or reproposed), dropping to his knee on the Idol set.

Wonder if she’ll invite Simon to the wedding?

Kristy Lee Cook – Pretty Tough Idol

Feb. 14, 2007 – American Idol 7 is down to the top 12 guys and girls. Our pick? Equestrian and kick boxer Kristy Lee Cook!

HorsePower – Liz Halliday profile

“Everyone tells me I am mad to have this twin sporting focus in my life, but I find that one complements the other. The cars demand focus, accuracy and strength. The horses require the same, but with a lighter touch. One is a machine that is purely technical, while the bond between horse and rider is a unique relationship” – Liz Halliday

Recently an article in SpeedWorld Magazine about women in racing said “take a look in the rearview window, guys. More women are racing than ever before…” However, it is Liz Halliday who has been looking in her rearview window to find the guys as Liz has won three races this year and has a record six wins for a female in the American Le Mans Series.

Having not started motor racing until she was 16, Liz was at a distinct disadvantage as most professional drivers begin “carting” at 10 -12 years old. Encouraged by her father, Don Halliday, a Sports Car of America instructor and vintage race car driver, it was soon evident that she had talent. She rose rapidly from racing at Club Level in Britain to FIA GT and Rolex Grand Am. In 2005 she received the North American Rookie of the Year presented by Dailysportscar.com. This year Liz’s Intersport Racing team was awarded the prestigious Lynn St. James Award for providing an opportunity for women in racing.

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