Rosie Napravnik aims to become the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Derby

Rosie Napravnik aims to become the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Derby
Rosie Napravnik is the most successful female jockey on the horse-racing circuit and she will try to make history next week by winning the Kentucky Derby. Last year, she got more than $12.4 million in earnings, making her the eighth-best jockey in America. Her horses finished in the top three in nearly half the races she entered and this year she ranks fifth in earnings, leads all jockeys in victories and has picked up her third consecutive riding title at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course. Some of her male competitors are less than charitable about the reasons for Napravnik's success. “Look at me,” a veteran jockey was saying before a race in New Orleans last month. “I'm 53 years old, brother. I'm going to walk into a paddock, and I'm going to talk to these owners and their wives and stuff. And there's little Rosie. She's going to bounce out of there. A pretty little girl, good disposition. And she's going to be talking all nice to them. Now, which one of them would you rather leg up on your horse?” Jockey Rosie Napravnik will ride on Louisiana Derby runner-up Mylute in this year's Kentucky Deby. She rode Mylute to his last win, a 10 3/4-length at Fair Grounds on December 26. "Rosie was aboard Mylute for his latest victory, and we feel fortunate to have her back," owners Goldmark Farms LLC and Whisper Hill Farm LLC said in a statement. "We'd also like to give special thanks to Shaun Bridgmohan, as well as all of the other riders who have ridden Mylute for their help in getting him to this point in his career." Mylute earned a 105 BRIS Speed rating in the Louisiana Derby and his Speed numbers have increased in all six starts since breaking his maiden at Arlington Park on August 11. Napravnik will be riding in her second Kentucky Derby, after finishing ninth with her first mount, Pants on Fire in 2011. If you want to bet on Mylute to win the Kentucky Derby you could make quite a bit of money, the odds at Intertops are 33/1 for a win by Napravnik and this horse.
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