Veteran turf writer Mark Shrager has won the 15th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons, for Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle. The winner was announced on May 10 via Zoom conference for the second straight year due to pandemic concerns. Previously, the by-invitation winner's reception had been held on-site at the Ryan family's Lexington-based farm, and hopes are that it will return to that venue in the future.
Shrager, a previous Book Award finalist for The Great Sweepstakes of 1877, took top honors for his beautifully written and comprehensively researched biography of one of racing's great trail blazers. During the late 1960s, Diane Crump represented the face of hope for aspiring young women in the Sport of Kings. Though diminutive in size, she boldly blew open doors and shattered glass ceilings while defying threats, jeers, and boycotts to achieve her goal of becoming a professional jockey. Along the way, she would be the first of her gender to ride in a sanctioned North American pari-mutuel race, the first to compete in the Kentucky Derby, and the first to win a stakes event. Hers was a story long overdue to be told, and Shrager did it with a master's touch.
“The author chronicles Diane's historic firsts,” noted judge Kay Coyte, “including her 1970 Kentucky Derby ride, with a wonderful chapter on her brother listening to the radio broadcast from Vietnam. Shrager also mines biographical gold in the all-but-unknown aspects of Diane's life: her mother's special 'gift,' her daughter's unique perspective and service to others, particularly with therapy dogs, during her post-racing career. It's a beautiful telling of a remarkable life.”
Shrager, a native of Southern California, caught the racing bug in his teens at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. The UCLA graduate went on to a long career in education finance with the Los Angeles Unified School District, but never lost his love for racing and the fascinating stories the sport routinely produces. For nearly 50 years Shrager has written freelance for various trade publications including Turf and Sport Digest and American Turf Monthly, and his story, 1,000 Surefire Ways to Lose a Horse Race, was published in a 1974 Best Sports Stories anthology.
As winner of the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, Shrager will receive a check for $10,000, along with a Tipperary crystal replica of Castleton Lyons' iconic stone tower.
Other finalists were: Linda Shantz for her novel Good Things Come, and Vicky Moon for the biography Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop Had a Way With Horses, both of whom will receive $1,000 and a crystal trophy.
The winner and finalists were selected from more than a dozen submissions published in 2020, representing a broad range of style and genre.
“In addition to many books by debut authors,” said Coyte, “this year's class had an international flavor, with literary trips around the globe—from Linda Shantz's Canada, to racing in World War II-era Shanghai, to a 1988 Mexican gambling coup, to a globetrotting mystery novel.”
Fellow judge Caton Bredar also noted that “In the midst of a global pandemic, it was heartening to find the quality of writing unwavering. And on a personal note, I appreciated the fact so many of the authors and/or main characters were female.”
The competition was launched in 2006 by the late Dr. Tony Ryan, to recognize the best book-length writing with horse racing as a backdrop. Past winners have included a National Book Award recipient and several Eclipse Award-winning writers. Since Dr. Ryan's passing in 2007, his son Shane has carried on the award to honor his memory.
Submissions for the next Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award must be received no later than December 31, 2021, and all must have been published during the current calendar year.
Three finalists have been selected for the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award from more than a dozen quality submissions published in 2020. These include two comprehensive biographies about barrier-breaking women and an engaging novel of hope and heartbreak.
“This was the year of debut authors, including the fiction finalist,” said judge Kay Coyte, a former Washington Post and racing publications editor. “Part of the mission of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award is to encourage new writers to cover the sport he so loved. To have this many in 2020 would have delighted him.”
The award, founded by the late Dr. Ryan in 2006, has annually honored the best in longform writing about a topic or tale related to horse racing. Its $10,000 winner's prize remains among the largest in the literary world, matching that of the prestigious National Book Award. Following Dr. Ryan's 2007 passing, this celebration of racing literature has been continued each year by his son, Shane, current president of the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington.
Past winners have represented a broad range of genres reflecting the breadth and width of this great sport — including fiction, short story collections, histories, and biographies. In addition to the $10,000 winner's prize, two additional finalists receive checks for $1,000, while all three take home Tipperary crystal statuettes of the farm's iconic stone tower.
Due to pandemic precautions, for the second straight year the winner's announcement cannot follow the traditional format of an in-person reception at Castleton Lyons, but will instead be announced via Zoom conference—scheduled during the heart of America's classic season, on May 10 at 5 p.m. ET.
Below are the three finalists for the 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award honoring excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature (in alphabetical order):
Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle, by Mark Shrager.
This exceptional biography follows the life path of Diane Crump from a horse-crazy child to the courageous young woman who forever altered the course of racing. Crump's dream was to be a jockey at a time when that was not considered possible for a female. She fought back hard against discrimination while enduring boycotts, insults, and even threats of violence. In 1969 Crump became the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in the U.S., the first to win a stakes, and the first to compete in the Kentucky Derby. Crump blew doors wide open for future generations of horse-loving girls to live their dreams at the racetrack.
Good Things Come, by Linda Shantz.
Mixing together optimism, heartbreak, and romance, a dash of rivalry, and a great deal of excitement, Good Things Come delivers all the goods in terms of top-notch fiction. Set in the world of Canadian racing, the story is that of an intense young woman, a troubled young man, and the quirky but talented filly that brought them together. This is the first book written by an accomplished equine artist and former backside worker who knows her subject well and tells it with a master's hand.
Sylvia Rideoutt BishopHad a Way With Horses, by Vicky Moon.
Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop is not a widely familiar name, but she was a true racing pioneer. She climbed a mountain of adversity growing up in the Jim Crow South, and later fought relentless battles against sexism and racism to become the first black woman in the United States to obtain a trainer's license. Journalist Vicky Moon's meticulously researched work tells the story of America while tracing the life of this most remarkable woman—from her blue-collar childhood in West Virginia, to her start as a racetrack groom during the Great Depression, to the saddling of her final winner at age 80.
Even as a deadly pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, the business of horse racing continued — and thankfully, so too did the art of writing about it. The year 2021 brings with it the 15th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, once again recognizing the best long-form writing the world of racing has to offer. Despite strict limitations set by COVID-19, authors continued to ply their trade, as evidenced by the exciting crop of racing-themed books that arrived last winter in the offices of Book Award sponsor Castleton Lyons.
As always, submissions represented multiple genres, from story collections to biographies, to works of fiction. Remarkably, nearly half of the 2020 submissions fell in the latter category, a strong group that served up mysteries and romance, misfits and second chances, crime, heartache, and equine greatness. Several of the titles represented excellent efforts by first-time authors.
After reading steadily through early spring, the Book Award judges selected six semi-finalists, including four fictional volumes and two stand-out biographies of trail-blazing women in racing.
A by-invitation reception has been held at Castleton Lyons' Kentucky farm each April since the award's inception in 2006. It had become a rite of spring until last year when the pandemic upended everything. The 2020 winner's announcement was by necessity moved back to November and was conducted remotely for the first time, via Zoom conference. That will likely be the format again this year, with a tentative target date of late April.
Below are the semi-finalists for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in thoroughbred racing literature published in 2020:
A Hole Through the Wind, by Alan Patterson.
This improbable but engaging semi-autobiographical tale of twin colts—one, big and handsome, the other a tiny castoff—is revealed through the diary and reminiscences of an old horseman. Written by an ex-jockey, the story centers around a young black man, the kindly farm manager and his daughter who take him in, and the undersized colt with an outsized heart they all believe in. It is a simple, feel-good tale for troubled times.
Diane Crump, A Horse-Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle, by Mark Shrager.
This exceptional biography follows the life path of Diane Crump from a horse-crazy child to the courageous young woman who forever altered the course of racing. Crump's dream was to be a jockey at a time when that was not considered possible for a female. She fought back hard against discrimination while enduring boycotts, insults, and even threats of violence. In 1969 Crump became the first woman to ride in a pari-mutuel race in the U.S., the first to win a stakes, and the first to compete in the Kentucky Derby. Crump blew doors wide open for future generations of horse-loving girls to live their dreams at the racetrack.
First-Time Starter, by Stan D. Jensen.
This charming novella, penned by a former owner, jockey's agent, and published author, reminds one how wonderful racing can be. It centers around a beautiful but seemingly incorrigible filly, her old-school trainer, a loving groom, and a has-been jockey. As the story develops, the filly transforms from an angry, vicious, untrusting animal into the glorious racehorse she was meant to be. First-Time Starter is a short, quick read encompassing a single day in the life of its cast of characters, and it leaves you wanting more.
Good Things Come, by Linda Shantz.
Mixing together hope, heartbreak, and romance, a dash of rivalry, and a great deal of excitement, Good Things Come delivers all the goods in terms of top-notch racing fiction. Set in the world of Canadian racing, the story is that of an intense young woman, a troubled young man, and the quirky but talented filly they both love. This is the first book written by an accomplished equine artist and former backside worker who knows her subject well and tells it with a master's hand.
Ruffian, by Precious McKenzie.
This fictionalized account of the life of Ruffian as seen through the eyes of a young girl is a well-penned read for older children and young adults, as well as a broader audience. No one who lived through the brilliant career and untimely death of this immortal filly could forget Ruffian. And those who came later will learn from these pages of her all-too-brief life and those of the people who surrounded and loved her.
Sylvia Rideoutt BishopHad a Way With Horses, by Vicky Moon.
Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop is not a widely familiar name, but she was a true racing pioneer. She climbed a mountain of adversity growing up in the Jim Crow South, and later fought relentless battles against sexism and racism to become the first black woman in the United States to obtain a trainer's license. Journalist Vicky Moon's meticulously researched work tells the story of America while tracing the life of this most remarkable woman—from her blue-collar childhood in West Virginia, to her start as a racetrack groom during the Great Depression, to the saddling of her final winner at age 80.
This is the third in a four-part series examining the arrival of female jockeys in American horse racing – why and how they broke in to the sport when they did, and how racing has reacted. In this third installment, we'll learn about the reaction of the racing world to an influx of female jockeys — and the career path women took in pursuit of race riding.
This series is sponsored by the Kentucky Derby Museum, which will open its Right To Ride exhibit on Oct. 16. The exhibit marks the 50th anniversary of Diane Crump's historic ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970, when she became the first female jockey in the race. You can learn more about the exhibit and access current COVID-19 safety protocols for Museum visitors here.
After Kathy Kusner's success in obtaining a jockey's license, it might have seemed the floodgates should open, and hundreds of women jockeys would appear at the nation's tracks. That isn't what happened, and there are several reasons why. The first, and easiest, is that owners and trainers of the day continued to flout the federal requirements of the Civil Rights Act. Men believed that racing was still such a patriarchy that women could basically be ignored. Perhaps women at that time were so used to being blocked that many of them felt it was fruitless to even try.
Although the Civil Rights Act is a federal law, and a judge had decided that Kusner must be granted a license, she still had to face the members of the male-dominated racing world. As such, the opinions of male jockeys are worth noting.
Nick Jemas, the national manager of the Jockeys' Guild, told The Chicago Sun in 1968, “[The racetrack] is no place for a woman.” An unidentified rider said, “It is a man's game and that's the way it should stay.”
The News Leader reported that several of the Laurel jockeys said it would be a great idea. “It would add some color to racing,” said jockey Bill Passmore. Another rider, Phil Grimm, told the Star, “I've seen a lot of girl exercise riders. They are good and I don't see why Kathy wouldn't be a good jock.”
Unfortunately, the negativity from the male jockey colony sometimes escalated past mere verbal posturing. Jockey Penny Ann Early received a provisional license in 1968, but a jockey boycott over her anticipated ride forced Churchill Downs to cancel racing for two days. It is worth mentioning that many of the fans booed the boycotting male jockeys with taunts of “chicken.” At Diane Crump's first professional race in 1969 she required two armed guards to escort her to the track.
If you have followed the career of Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack, you are correct in assuming he would have an opinion on the matter.
“I think women should get a chance to ride,” Hartack wrote in the Dec. 13, 1968 issue of Life magazine. “It's a matter of principle. Women have legal rights, probably too many, but they've got them, and that's all there is to it.
“As a group, I don't think their brains are as capable of making fast decisions. Women are also more likely to panic. It's their nature.”
Hartack's comment harkens back to the late 18th century when progressive scientists embraced phrenology, which included the belief that intelligence could be predicted by head shape and size. Male voters embraced that theory and used in in their crusade to keep women from voting. (History does, in fact, repeat itself.)
If there was so much pressure to keep them out of the sport, why then did women decide to complicate and even risk their lives by going against the odds to ride racehorses? Over the last decades some of the most prominent female jockeys have told their stories. What prompted them to go into racing?
A quick study of the biographies behind the biggest names reveals that almost all female jockeys were introduced to horses (not necessarily horse racing) at an early age.
Although jockey/journalist Donna Barton-Brothers' route should, to the casual observer, seems a fait accompli, Donna resisted the pull of the racetrack. Her mother is famed female jockey Patti Barton, the first woman to win more than 1,000 races. Donna's brother and sister were both jockeys, but Donna only started grooming horses as a way to make money in college. Grooming led to galloping, and galloping to riding.
Julie Krone is America's winningest female jockey, with earnings over $90 million. When Julie was only six years old her mother permitted her to ride her pony several miles away from home. She disliked anything that took her away from horses. When her parents divorced she convinced her mother to spend spring break at Churchill Downs, and Julie convinced Clarence Picou to hire her to do just about anything. Her focus was on becoming “the greatest jockey in the world.”
Rosie Napravnik, winner of over $70 million, was surrounded by horses from birth. Her father is a farrier and her mother trained event horses. By age seven she was riding in pony races, and it was around that time she began dreaming of becoming a jockey.
Sandy Schleiffers (left) and Penny Ann Early (right) at Hollywood Park in 1969
Jockey Diane Nelson pleaded with her parents for a horse or a pony for as long as she could remember. When her mother asked Crump about her college plans, she replied she was only interested in a career that involved horses. Jill Jellison learned to ride when she was three years old and was galloping racehorses by age 14.
Diane Crump, the first woman to ride as a licensed jockey, and the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, was first introduced to horses at age seven, when she rode a pony at a carnival. She began taking riding lessons at age seven, and was licensed to gallop racehorses at age 16.
The above examples reinforce that women generally don't learn about becoming a jockey at the high school career fair; they are exposed to it at a very early age.
Although Kathy Kusner's victory was profound in that it enabled women to ride professionally as jockeys, and Diane Crump's appearance in the Kentucky Derby proved that women jockeys were no fluke, they still had to overcome a public perception that at times tended to ignore their considerable riding abilities. Media depictions of early female jockeys encouraged this, focusing on the riders' emotions somewhat more than they did with men.
Columnist Bill Braucher of The Miami Herald quoted Crump as saying after her first race: “Wasn't that wonderful? Everyone was so nice to me I could almost cry.”
Braucher finished his column with the quote and a comment – “Just like a girl.”
Undated image of jockey Mary Bacon
Braucher was far from alone in his portrayal of the first women jockeys. They were frequently presented more as novelties and not as serious athletes. In 1970 Judy Barrett had become the first British woman to be licensed to ride racehorses in America (women were not permitted to professionally ride in England until 1972). In a British newspaper, the Saturday Titbits (yes, the spelling is correct. Perhaps compare it to a 1970s hypersexed version of the National Enquirer) referred to her blossoming race career in the United States with an accompanying picture of her in a miniskirt, complete with comments about her hair color and the descriptors “lissome,” and “shapely.” There was no mention of her race record, riding ability, or overall horsemanship. That “lissome” individual eventually left racing to become a Thoroughbred breeder, and is one of the most successful breeders in Pennsylvania, twice winning the Pennsylvania Horse Breeder's Association's Breeder of the Year Award.
“Women not only had to work harder to get mounts, they had to fight the conscious efforts of the media to keep gender at the center of the argument,” said Jessica Whitehead, curator of exhibits like Right to Ride at the Kentucky Derby Museum. “No matter the talent, there was an enormous amount of public perception for these women to subvert.”
Our first assumption is that men were the only ones to ignore female riders' capabilities. However, the aforementioned article in the Saturday Titbits was written by Jane Goldstein. Later, she penned an article about female jockeys in Turf and Sport Digest titled “Move Over Billie Jean.” In that article she made a coarse comparison between jockey Julie Krone and Elizabeth Taylor, noting that Crump was “hardly a Liz Taylor type,” noting Taylor's midriff bulge and increasing number of husbands. She also related how “women everywhere were beginning to challenge their prescribed role as the weaker sex.” At the same time, we can look at Goldstein's writing style in much the same way we assess the evolving national attitudes toward racing. Her article went on to quote Lou Cunningham, then publicity director at Atlantic City Race Course. He said, “One of the problems with women jocks, generally, I think, is that a lot of girls ride and are terribly interested at first, but then find out how rough a sport this is and get discouraged by the brutal workload. A lot of them disappear from the scenes.”
One could easily read Cunningham's comment as blatantly sexist. Perhaps it was. However, there is no denying the high attrition rate in the profession of professional jockeys among both men and women.
By the early 1970s the women's movement was at full speed. We began to see women advancing in many different sports. And yet, they continued to struggle with the perception that they were a novelty. Was it only male writers and sportscasters to blame? After her very public thrashing of Bobby Riggs in 1973, tennis superstar Billie Jean King started her own sports magazine titled womenSports. The magazine was intended to be a Sports Illustrated for women. And yet King's new magazine still pandered at times to the prurient interests of men. When jockey Mary Bacon was pictured in her racing jodhpurs and spurs with her polka-dot bikini underwear visible underneath, female readers were irate.
“Now this is exactly the kind of sexist shit that I've always objected to in the likes of Sports Illustrated,” wrote a reader from New Hampshire. “Why does she have to be pictured as a piece of ass on your contents page? Please try to get away from this approach.”
Billie Jean King's magazine is proof that these were transitional times, with both men and women adjusting to women's changing roles.
Not all the female athletes embraced this more radical new brand of outspoken feminism. Said softball player Joan Joyce in 1974: “I've pretty much done what I wanted my whole life, so I don't need feminism.” Or as jockey Robyn Smith said in 1972: “I'm not trying to prove anything as a female jockey. I do it because I enjoy it so much, and I think people should do whatever makes them happy.”
Smith makes a good point, but Kathy Kusner made the same point prior to her trial, and it was Kusner's bold step that enabled Smith to make that choice to do what made her “happy.”
David Beecher has a master's degree from Shippensburg University and a PhD from Penn State, where he is currently a lecturer. Dr. Beecher's research and teaching interests are American history with an emphasis on Early American and Civil War History. His dissertation explained the role of Thoroughbred racing in the Antebellum South.
