Popular jockey Jellison dies at 51

Jill Jellison, part of the second wave of successful female jockeys in Thoroughbred racing, died Tuesday of breast cancer in a Rhode Island hospital at the age of 51, according to family friends.

Racing primarily in New England, Jellison won 1,913 races in the U.S. and had total purse earnings of $13.6 million. Although she rode sparingly in the last decade, she rode well into her late 40s. In 1989, she won 241 races from 1,478 mounts with purse earnings of $1.12 million and took her first riding title, at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire.

Though not of the pioneering generation of female riders, Jellison rode at a top level for much of the early 1990s, when Julie Krone was the dominant female rider. At that time, many horsemen still did not accept female jockeys, especially on less-prominent racing circuits. Though conditions have improved, some horsemen still do not look on female riders favorably. At the time of her last ride in 2013, she ranked as the sixth-leading female rider of all time.

A native of Rhode Island who was mentored and supported throughout her career by trainer Bobby Raymond, Jellison rode her first race in 1982. Her first winner came at Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

Her most productive years occurred in the late 1980s and in the 1990s, when she regularly won more than 100 races a year. In 1993, she received the Lou Smith Memorial Award for outstanding achievement from the New England Turf Writers Association. She won the riding title at Rockingham Park, which now is closed, nine times.

Jellison was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, her last year riding. During that year, she had 35 wins from 147 mounts. She was considered a fan favorite at Suffolk Downs, where she rode for the last part of her career.