Female Horse Racing Trainers

Women have played a crucial role in horse racing for generations, even when official rules denied them formal recognition. Long before licences were granted in their own names, many were running successful yards, placing horses, and winning major races behind the scenes. Today, female trainers compete and win at the very highest level on both the Flat and over jumps in the UK and abroad.

History of Female Trainers in Horse Racing

In Britain, women were first officially granted training licences in 1966. However, they had been deeply involved in racing long before that date.

For example, Helen Johnson Houghton took over Woodway Stable after her husband’s death in 1952 and ran it successfully for years. Similarly, Norah Wilmot trained horses from Binfield Grove Stud from 1931 onwards. In Wilmot’s case, the licence was technically held by her head lads, but she was the driving force behind the operation.

Going further back, Ellen Chaloner became the first woman to receive a permit from the Jockey Club in 1886. Although this was not a full licence, as they were not introduced until decades later, it allowed her to train runners. In 1887, her filly Jersey Lily won the Triennial Stakes at Royal Ascot (now the Jersey Stakes), making her the first woman to train a winner at the Royal Meeting.

The Landmark Ruling in 1966

The breakthrough for women came after a legal battle led by Florence Nagle, a determined campaigner for equality in racing. Frustrated by the Jockey Club’s refusal to grant women licences, she took the case to court. After earlier appeals were blocked, her third appeal reached the Court of Appeal in 1966.

The judges ruled in her favour, stating that her right to work could not be restricted by a body holding monopoly power. Forced to admit defeat, the Jockey Club had no choice but to drop its exclusion of women. On 3 August 1966, Florence Nagle and Norah Wilmot became the first women in Britain to receive official training licences. Wilmot landed a winner at Brighton Racecourse in her name the following week.

Despite historically limited opportunities, many women have achieved remarkable success at the highest levels of the sport. Here are some notable trainers, both past and present, who have helped shape horse racing through their achievements both in the UK and further afield.

Top Active Female Trainers

Here is a selection of some of the very best women training horses today.

Emma Lavelle (National Hunt)

Emma Lavelle trains from her historic Bonita yard on the Wiltshire downs near Marlborough, once home to Sir Gordon Richards. Known for her positivity and ambition, she has built a strong National Hunt operation with around 70 horses in training. Stable star Paisley Park won the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, while De Rasher Counter captured the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury.

Venetia Williams (National Hunt)

Williams is a leading National Hunt trainer based in Herefordshire. A former amateur jockey, she rode in the 1988 Grand National before injury forced her retirement. She took out her training licence in 1995 and has since enjoyed major success, notably winning the 2009 Grand National with 100-1 outsider Mon Mome, becoming only the second female trainer to land the race. Her stable has also produced top-class performers such as Teeton Mill, a Hennessy Gold Cup and King George VI Chase winner.

Jessica Harrington (Flat & National Hunt)

Jessica Harrington has enjoyed elite success in both codes. She has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and trained multiple Classic winners on the Flat. Notably, she is the most successful female trainer in Cheltenham Festival history. Her adaptability across disciplines makes her one of the most accomplished trainers in modern racing. On the racecard, you will see her go by ‘Mrs. John Harrington’ as she has done for many years, for superstitious reasons.

Lucinda Russell (National Hunt)

Lucinda Russell made history when she trained One For Arthur to win the Grand National. Not done there, she won the nation’s most-viewed race again in 2023 with Corach Rambler. Based in Scotland, she has built a strong National Hunt operation and regularly competes in Grade 1 company. Beginning in 1995/96 season, by late 2024, she hit her 1,000th winner milestone, with 960 of those coming over fences. Russell is the wife of the former National Hunt jockey Peter Scudamore and now holds a training license jointly with their son, Michael.

Henrietta Knight

Henrietta Knight began her professional training career in 1989 after a successful amateur point-to-point stint, during which she trained over 100 winners. She is best known as the trainer of Best Mate, the three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup and King George VI Chase winner. Knight also trained other top-class horses, including Edredon Bleu, and sent out more than 700 winners in total. She retired in 2012 but returned in 2023 at the age of 77. She remains active as of early 2026 and is dreaming of landing another winner at the Cheltenham Festival.

Jane Chapple-Hyam (Flat)

British-Australian trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam is based in Newmarket, where she took out her own licence back in 2005. Her breakthrough came a year later when 100/1 outsider Mudawin won the Ebor Handicap at York. She later achieved her first Group 1 victory in 2021 when Saffron Beach won the Sun Chariot Stakes, confirming her place among Britain’s leading Flat trainers.

Eve Johnson Houghton (Flat)

Eve Johnson Houghton trains from Woodway Stables in Wiltshire and has built a reputation for developing high-class sprinters and juveniles. Between Jan 2022 and Dec 2025, she earned £3.7m in prize money from British flat races, over £1.5m of which came from two-year-old horses. As the granddaughter of Helen Johnson Houghton, she continues a strong family legacy in British racing while forging her own successful path.

Julie Camacho (Flat)

Julie Camacho is a prominent Flat trainer based in North Yorkshire who has steadily risen through the ranks with a string of high-class sprinters and milers. Her yard has enjoyed success in Group quality races, most notable the Commonwealth Cup and July Cup. In 2023, she became the first female trainer in Britain to surpass £1 million in prize money in a single season.

Gai Waterhouse (Flat)

Gai Waterhouse is one of Australia’s most successful trainers, winning over 150 Group 1 races, including the hugely prestigious Melbourne Cup (2013). Known for her bold personality, her record stands among the best of any Australian trainer, male or female. These days, she runs her operation alongside co-trainer Adrian Bott.

Retired Female Trainers

Many of today’s best female trainers were no doubt inspired by some of the legends of the past and here are the best of the best.

Jenny Pitman

The “First Lady of Racing” and one of the most influential figures in jump racing history, Jenny Pitman became the first woman to train a winner of the Grand National in 1983 (Corbiere) and later won it again in 1995 with Royal Athlete. She also trained two Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in between. After her retirement in 1999, she became the first winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award and is also an OBE. Soon after, she turned her attention to writing books and became a successful author.

Norah Wilmot

Norah Wilmot was a pioneering trainer long before women were officially recognised. She trained horses successfully for decades, including uncredited wins like Haulfryn in the Goodwood and Doncaster Cups in 1937. Because women could not hold licences before 1966, her licences were technically held by successive head lads. Despite this, she earned wide respect, training for high-profile patrons including Queen Elizabeth II, who sent her horse to Wilmot Night Watch in 1963, subtly defying Jockey Club rules to acknowledge the trainer’s expertise.

Helen Johnson Houghton

Helen Johnson Houghton trained top-class racehorses for decades, but before women could hold licences, hers were officially held by men — first Colonel Dick Poole, then Charles Jerdein, her cousin Peter Walwyn, and finally her son Fulke Johnson Houghton in 1961. She trained remarkable winners including Gilles de Retz, Ribocco, Ribero, Habitat, Rose Bowl, Ile de Bourbon, and Double Form. Her achievements were formally recognised in December 1977 when she became one of the first female members of the Jockey Club.

Mary Reveley

Mary Reveley enjoyed a remarkable 26-year training career, during which she trained over 2,000 winners across disciplines. She was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to saddle 100 winners in a single year (1991) and the first to saddle 50 winners on the Flat (1992). Among her top performers was Cab On Target, who claimed the Grade 1 Future Champion Novices’ Chase, Long Distance Hurdles at Newbury and Ascot, and twice won the West Yorkshire Hurdle.

Criquette Head-Maarek

A dominant force in French racing, Head-Maarek won multiple editions of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and trained the outstanding mare Goldikova. Although most of her major success, of which there was plenty, came in France, she also landed winners in several major British contests such as the 1000 Guineas, Champion Stakes and Coronation Stakes. She retired in 2018, marking the end of a 41-year training career.