Blackmore 1st Woman to Win Grand National Horse Race
Voice of America
A Hollywood fantasy turned into reality Saturday when Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win Britain's grueling Grand National horse race, breaking one of the biggest gender barriers in sports.
Blackmore, a 31-year-old Irishwoman, rode Minella Times to victory at odds of 11-1 in the 173rd edition of the famous steeplechase at Aintree in Liverpool, northwest England "I don't feel male or female right now. I don't even feel human," Blackmore said. "This is just unbelievable." Blackmore is the 20th female jockey to compete in a race that has been a mud-splattered British sporting institution since 1839. Women have been allowed to enter the National as jockeys since 1975.
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