Julie Krone, Star Jockey MAY 22, 1989

The first time Julie Krone got married, in 1995, she spent her
wedding day at the track in Saratoga, riding six races before
shedding her racing silks for a white satin wedding gown. There
was no time for an immediate honeymoon; she had six mounts the
next day. The marriage ended after four years. On May 27, Krone,
37, will tie the knot again, but this time she'll do things a bit
differently. At a seaside ceremony in Santa Monica, Calif., a
continent away from the Triple Crown hubbub, she will marry Jay
Hovdey, an executive columnist for the Daily Racing Form. "Being
in love and finally knowing what it's about, that's great," Krone
says. "Horse racing was all I saw my whole life, but now I look
forward to having kids. All I want to do is be a normal mother."

Such a statement would have been unthinkable to Krone a few years
ago, when she was immersed in her career, which began at Tampa
Bay Downs in 1981. With more than 3,500 victories and earnings of
more than $81 million, she's the winningest female jockey in
history. In the irons the 4'10 1/2", 100-pound Krone earned praise
for her patience. In the jock's room she won respect for standing
up for herself. At Monmouth in '86, after a race in which Miguel
Rujano had hit her in the ear with his whip, she punched him in
the face and whacked him with a lawn chair. In June '93 she won
the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair to become the only
woman to win a Triple Crown race. Two months later she became
just the third jockey to ride five winners in one day at
Saratoga.

Ten days after that, in a race at the same track, Krone shattered
an ankle and suffered a cardiac contusion when she was trampled
in a gruesome accident. She returned to riding prematurely in
1994 and then, only 13 days after coming back from a second round
of surgery on her ankle, broke both her hands in a spill at
Gulfstream Park in January '95. "That was too much," she says. "I
had always been like, 'I can't wait!' But I just didn't want to
go anymore. It was miserable." She stayed in the saddle for four
more years but was never the same rider. On April 18, 1999, she
hung up her tack for good.

When she's not taking care of her three saddle horses, Krone
finds excitement riding the waves on her surfboard, which she
does near the Del Mar, Calif., area house that she shares with
Jay. She still works at several tracks as a commentator on
Hollywood Park's cable and closed-circuit weekend racing shows,
but she's comfortable watching from the rail. "I was always a
daredevil," she says. "I don't feel I have to be the center of
attention anymore. I'm so happy now. Who was I then? I have no
idea."

--Mark Beech

COLOR PHOTO: HEINZ KLUETMEIER (COVER)

COLOR PHOTO: PETER READ MILLER

"Being in love and finally knowing what it's all about, that's
great," she says. "All I want to do is be a normal mother."