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Alicia or Alice Meynell was a female jockey who is credited with being the first woman to compete, and win, in a sanctioned horse race in England.

Early Life

Maynell was born in 1782 to a watchmaker from Norwich.^[1] Not much is known about her early family history, however, she did have at least one sister who married William Flint of Yorkshire, an avid horse riding enthusiast. Just before she turned 22 she married Colonel Thomas Thornton, a military officer who was well-respected in the local community.

Career

In 1804, Alicia was visiting her sister and went riding with her brother-in-law. Throughout the riding session, the two began to debate which of their horses was faster. Flint challenged Meynell to a race and she beat him; he challenged her to a second race and once again she was victorious.

Flint did not take kindly to the defeats, and as a result, challenged her to a legitimate race at Newmarket Race Track with a purse of over 1000 pounds.^[2] Flint and Meynell raced in August 1804 and the York Herald reported that over 100,000 people came out to the event with over 200,000 pounds being bet in total.

Flint did all he could to put Meynell at a disadvantage, depriving her of her whip hand as well as a spotter in case she slipped.^[2] However, neither of these tactics hindered Meynell. Her and flint agreed on a four mile circuit and Alicia and her horse led for just over the first three miles.

However, in the latter states of the race her horse slipped and Flint was able to pull ahead and beat her in the last quarter mile.

After the loss Alicia was upset and wrote a letter to the editor demanding a rematch with Flint. Flint never responded to her demand but the next year a man named Mr. Bromford challenged her to race with an increased purse as well as a a collection of French wine. On the day of the race Bromford did not show up and Alicia won by default.

First Big Win

After Bromford failed to appear to race Alicia, another prominent jockey named Buckle accepted the challenge and the two agreed on a two mile circuit.

Meynell defeated Buckle amid speculation that the jockey had let her win but Buckle denied this fact multiple times.

References

^ Doyle,Scott, Marissa,Regina. http://nineteenteen.blogspot.com/2010/03/nineteenth-century-heroines-first-place.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b Evans, Mary. "A Jockey Named Mrs. Thornton". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

^[1]

Later Life

^ Doyle, Scott, Marissa, Regina. "Nineteenth Century Heroines: First Place Always". Retrieved 12 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[1] Doyle,Scott, Marissa,Regina. http://nineteenteen.blogspot.com/2010/03/nineteenth-century-heroines-first-place.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Evans1-2] Evans, Mary. "A Jockey Named Mrs. Thornton". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 March 2013.

[3] Doyle, Scott, Marissa, Regina. "Nineteenth Century Heroines: First Place Always". Retrieved 12 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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