Francine Villeneuve

Francine Villeneuve (born July 22, 1964, Ottawa) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred jockey and racing pioneer.

She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "The Queen of Fort Erie" because of a long affiliation with the border oval. With 1,001 victories and 3,065 combined wins, places and shows, she retired "for good" in April of 2012 as the winningest female Canadian jockey of all time and was the first Canadian woman to achieve the 1,000 wins milestone.

Early life

The only child of Ron and Eleanor (née Broderick) Villeneuve, Francine grew up around horses on the family farm in Winchester Springs, Ontario. While attending Humber College for equine studies, she took a summer job at Woodbine Racetrack as a hot walker in 1984 and by 1987 she was a licensed racing jockey.

Career

Within four years, in June 1991, Villeneuve crossed the finish line second in the Queen's Plate, riding Wilderness Song, making history as the first female ever to place in Canada's oldest and most prestigious race. At the same time she was also the first Canadian woman to even ride in the event, making it doubly special. By that August she would go on to become the first (of only three women) to compete in all of the Canadian Triple Crown races; the Queen's Plate, the Prince of Wales Stakes and the Breeders' Stakes respectively, a feat that would not be duplicated by a woman for 16 more years. On November 2, 1991 Villeneuve became the first woman to ride in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, and was the second in any Breeders' Cup race, as American Julie Krone had previously ridden at the Breeders' Cup in both 1988 and 1989.