New championship for women jockeys Britain's professional women jockeys are to get their own championship for the first time this season. The race for the new title - sponsored by information technology business Prolinx -begins on the opening day of the Flat racing season at Doncaste on Saturday 31 March. It concludes on Town Moor too, on the final day of the season in November. Hayley Turner, Britain's top female jockey who rode her first two Group 1 winners last year, said: "This is excellent news and it will create a great deal of interest - and make us even more competitive - in the weighing room." Paul Struthers, Chief Executive of the Professional Jockeys Association, said: "We are thrilled to be launching the first ever Ladies' Jockeys Championship and delighted that Prolinx has agreed to be the sponsor. This new championship reflects the impact that has been made by female Jockeys in recent years and their growing influence in the sport." Andy Weller, Managing Director of Prolinx Ltd, said: "We are delighted to launch the Prolinx Lady Jockey Championship 2012, in conjunction with Professional Jockeys Association, and are also proud to be able to present the Lady Jockey of the Year at The Stobart Lesters 2012. We hope these initiatives will inject much needed support to all lady Jockeys in Flat racing in Britain." The championship is divided into three sections - gold, silver and bronze. The gold award prize, for jockeys riding over 30 winners during the season, is £5,000; the silver award (10-29 winners) £3,000; and the bronze award (1-9 winners) £1,000. The winners will be the riders with the best strike rate - winners-to-rides ratio - in each section.
