Retired Jockey Allison Hershbell Dead

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Allison Hershbell, one of the most popular jockeys at Delaware Park during her 11-year riding career, died Feb. 17 in Philadelphia after a long illness, according to <I>The News Journal</I>. She was 30.

Hershbell won her first professional race as a 17-year-old apprentice rider in the spring of 1994 at Delaware Park. She was the leading Arabian jockey in the country in 2003.

Aboard Arabians and Thoroughbreds, Hershbell won more than 550 career races, winning with 275 of her 2,537 Thoroughbred mounts. In addition to Delaware Park, she rode on a regular basis at Philadelphia Park, Laurel, Pimlico, and Charles Town.

Hershbell grew up around horses on her parents' farm in Unionville, Pa. She learned to ride when she was 2 and was riding in pony races and fox hunting at 7.

Hershbell won the final race of her career in 2004 at Delaware Park. She fell from the horse after crossing the finish line. She retired from professional riding in part because of her health and a lack of enjoyment for the job.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Morris Animal Foundation, 45 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, Colo., 80112, or the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, P.O. Box 3387, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 12866.

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