Rosie Napravnik

Rosie Napravnik is recognized as one of the most accomplished jockeys in American Thoroughbred racing. In a career spanning a decade, Napravnik achieved significant milestones as a female jockey in a male-dominated sport. She began her career in 2005 and was consistently ranked among the top jockeys in North America in both earnings and total races won. At age 17, she won aboard her first mount, the Richard Small-trained Ringofdiamonds, at Pimlico. Early in her career, she rode under the name A.R. Napravnik to conceal her gender, highlighting the challenges she faced in the horse racing industry.

Napravnik's career advanced at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where she became the first woman to win the Louisiana Derby aboard Pants on Fire. She was named the leading rider at that track with 110 wins, becoming the first woman to earn the title. Napravnik was the sixth woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, finishing ninth on Pants on Fire, which was the best placing for a woman rider in the event's history at that time. She later became the first woman to win the Kentucky Oaks, guiding Believe You Can to victory. Napravnik is only the second woman jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race and the first to win more than one, with victories in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Shanghai Bobby and the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Untapable.

Her fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness Stakes on Mylute remain the best finishes for a woman jockey in those two Triple Crown races, and she is the only woman to have ridden in all three Triple Crown races. Napravnik surpassed Hall of Famer Julie Krone's record for most earnings in a season, with her mounts earning more than $12.5 million, and she exceeded her own mark in her final two years, earning over $13.2 million and $13.5 million, respectively. She is the all-time leader in stakes victories and career earnings by female jockeys at Churchill Downs, with 95 career victories at the track, including 13 stakes wins.

In her final year, Napravnik repeated her riding title at the Keeneland fall meet and piloted Untapable to a second Kentucky Oaks victory. After winning the Breeders' Cup Distaff, she announced her retirement from riding. Napravnik was six weeks pregnant when she won the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Untapable. Throughout her career, she spoke openly about the gender barriers she encountered, including harassment from male jockeys and heckling from spectators.

Since retiring from race riding, Napravnik has focused on training retired racehorses for second careers, emphasizing eventing, hunters, jumpers, and fox hunting. She supports Thoroughbred aftercare organizations, serves on the board of Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement farm, and runs Off-Track Sporthorses, which assists in transitioning Thoroughbreds off the track. Napravnik's career in horse racing and her ongoing work in equine training and aftercare have contributed to the advancement of women in professional sports and the promotion of Thoroughbred welfare.