Linda Jones (jockey)

Linda Christine Jones MBE (born 1952) is a New Zealand former thoroughbred horse racing jockey. She was the first woman to be granted a race licence in New Zealand in 1977 and the first in Australasia to achieve four victories in a single day the following year. Jones finished second in the 1978/1979 Jockey Premiership with 18 winners by Christmas 1978. She later became the first woman to ride a Derby winner in each of the Australasia, Europe, and North America continents and the first female to beat professional male entrants at an Australian-registered event. Injury prompted Jones to retire in 1980; she had achieved 65 victories within 18 months. She is an inductee of both the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.