World’s Best Female Jockey Rides Again : Monmouth Park: Julie Krone returns to racing on Wednesday after suffering broken arm and being out of action for eight months.

It might be a day late, but Julie Krone could not have picked a better way to celebrate her 27th birthday.

The world’s best female jockey is returning to racing at Monmouth Park on Wednesday after being out for eight months with a career-threatening broken left arm.

“I’m really looking forward to Wednesday,” Krone said. “Just being back will be the best reward. If I win my first race, I think I just might cry.”

Krone has shed a couple of tears since the night of Nov. 24 when her mount, My Rolin, went down at the Meadowlands Racetrack, shattering the rider’s arm in four places.

Surgery was performed that night and a bone graft was done in March. Rehabilitation followed, and there have been more than a few times when Krone has wondered about her career.

She didn’t get back onto a horse until earlier this month and things weren’t going well, at first.

“When I first started back I was doing the wrong things and I’d get tired,” she said. “Instead of sitting still, I’d be wiggling my hands all the time. Then the horse would get strong and so I’d pull and get more tired. Everything was out of sync.”

Things started getting better in the middle of last week when Krone galloped Make A Decision for trainer John Forbes. Suddenly, rider and horse were in sync. The timing was there and that ever-present Krone smile returned.

The final step is getting back into the saddle competitively, which is something Krone has never had trouble doing in recent years. She has won 1,899 races since becoming a jockey nine years ago.

Last year, Krone won 368 races, the third highest in the country, and her mounts had earnings of $8.03 million, 10th in the nation.

Krone, who has won the last three riding titles at both Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, is listed to ride three horses Wednesday--Ampart Slew in the fourth race, Gandad in the fifth and Castle Dell in the eighth.