The Racing Under Saddle (RUS) Ontario series makes a stop at Mohawk on Saturday, September 28 as part of the OSS Super Finals card.
Emma-Jayne Wilson, a Sovereign and Eclipse Award-winning jockey, will join a group of talented riders accompanied by trotters traditionally seen in harness racing, showcasing the versatility and speed of the standardbred.
In 2007, Wilson became the first female rider to win the historic Queen’s Plate when she guided Mike Fox to a memorable victory.
With more than 1100 career wins to her name as a thoroughbred jockey, Wilson will be seeking her first score with a standardbred in Saturday’s exhibition.
“I’m so excited for this event. I definitely plan on winning!” said Wilson.
The studious Wilson is preparing for Saturday’s race by watching video of one of her idols, jockey Julie Krone, guiding Moni Maker to a world record for a trotting under saddle event held at The Red Mile in 2000.
“I looked up the video of Julie Krone breaking the world record on Moni Maker just so I could see her ride this trotter and it was very informative,” said Wilson. “I know what I want to do and how I want to feel on a horse because of what I do here at Woodbine on a daily basis, but I wasn’t sure how it would translate to riding a standardbred.”
Wilson, who will pilot the Anthony Montini trained trotter I’ll Be There, has also spent time on the RUS website (www.RUSontario.com) checking out her competition and she’s hopeful her thoroughbred experience will give her an advantage.
“I plan on riding as close to how I usually ride as I possibly can,” said Wilson. “What really helped me was watching Julie ride Moni Maker. She rode tight and really low and she held the horse together.”
As an avid advocate of the sport of horse racing, Wilson will take to Twitter (@EJWilson81), where she boasts more than 1600 followers, to provide fans an inside look at her foray into standardbred racing.
“Although thoroughbred and standardbred racing are two very different sports, we are in the same industry and face the same challenges,” said Wilson. “By building off the potential of the RUS events, even if it’s just a novelty to get people to the track and show them what a good time it is, I think we need to take full advantage of all opportunities to promote racing.”
Wilson will be challenged on Saturday by Riina Rekila, who already boasts four wins in the 2013 RUS Series. In 2010, the Finnish-born trainer-driver was the first-ever female nominee for the prestigious O’Brien Award Of Horsemanship.
The RUS exhibition, a one-mile dash around the Mohawk oval, will take place after Saturday night’s second race which goes to post 7:45 p.m. ET.
First post time on Saturday at Mohawk is 7:25 p.m. For more information about RUS Ontario, please visit: www.RUSontario.com and follow @RUS_Ontario on Twitter.
FIELD FOR THE RUS ONTARIO EXHIBITION
POST / HORSE / RIDER / TRAINER
1 / Leonardo Da Lindy / M Brooking / M Brooking
2 / Ill Be There / E Wilson / A Montini / A Montini
3 / Snoops Sourceress / S Town / P Henriksen
4 / Wedgewood / T Enberg / G Maltby
5 / Hetties Honey / A Humphries / M Macri
6 / Sixth Man / S Macdonald / J Walker
7 / Charlie Tuna / B Kennedy / J Yake
8 / Loco Caballo / L Lindstrom / B Burgess
9 / Harlequin / R Rekila / G Maltby
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