Napravnik to join Old Friends board of directors

Popular jockey Rosie Napravnik has agreed to join the board of directors for the Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement group. The organization is based in Georgetown, Ky., with a satellite near Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

"Rosie is a wonderful representative of the sport, and she is one of the many jockeys who adore these horses," Old Friends founder and president Michael Blowen told the Off-Track Thoroughbreds website.

Board members often make personal appearances at fundraisers to help promote Old Friends' mission. Napravnik, who has visited both Old Friends farms in the past, made an appearance at the Ferdinand's Ball fundraiser the night before the Kentucky Derby.

Through Tuesday, Napravnik has ridden the winners of 1,542 races for total purse earnings of $49,848,285. Last year, she became the first female rider to win the Kentucky Oaks, piloting Believe You Can to victory. She was also the regular rider for last year's champion juvenile male Shanghai Bobby, winning four stakes aboard the Harlan’s Holiday colt, including Grade 1 triumphs in the Champagne Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Napravnik finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby aboard Mylute, and will have the mount again in the Preakness Stakes May 18.