Female jockey purse record set to fall

Emma-jayne Wilson may be a Canadian thoroughbred racing trailblazer and pioneer. But she had a very good mentor.

Long before Wilson established herself as Canada's top female jockey, she received a call from American Julie Krone, the first woman to win an American Triple Crown race aboard Colonial Affair in the 1993 Belmont Stakes.

Wilson has made many trips to the winner's circle since then, having amassed a Canadian-record 1,875 victories — including a historic triumph in the 2007 King's Plate aboard Mike Fox — and counting. But as she enters a 20th season at Woodbine Racetrack, Wilson is on the cusp of surpassing Krone for all-time purse earnings by a woman.

Krone, who retired in 2004, holds the mark of US$90,126,584, with Wilson close behind at $89,161,572. Barring injury — Wilson missed some time last year with a concussion — the 42-year-old Brampton, Ont., native should surpass Krone's mark in June or July.

Woodbine's 2024 meet opens Saturday.

Highly touted prospect Jackson Holliday has been optioned to the minor leagues by the Baltimore Orioles after starting his big-league career with a disappointing thud.

Holliday was promoted from triple-a Norfolk on April 10 amid plenty of fanfare, but the 20-year-old second baseman managed only two hits — both singles — and two walks in 36 plate appearances. He struck out 18 times and was batting just .059 with one RBI and a .111 on-base percentage.

Holliday, the top pick in the 2022 MLB draft, will seek to regain his form at the plate with Norfolk, where he batted .333 with five doubles, two homers and nine RBIS in 10 games this season before being summoned by the Orioles.

Holliday excelled in the minors last season and was dominating triple-a pitching at Norfolk, but that didn't translate to success at the major-league level during his time with the Orioles this month.

Jurgen Klopp has told Arne Slot that he would be taking over the “best job in the world” if the Dutchman is appointed as the next Liverpool manager.

The Feyenoord coach has emerged as the favourite to succeed Klopp after confirming negotiations have started between the clubs. Slot said he wanted to take up one of the most daunting tasks in soccer by succeeding the Anfield great.

“Best job in the world, best club in the world,” Klopp said Friday.

Klopp is standing down at the end of the season after more than eight years at Liverpool in which he has won a full set of trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.

He said he liked Slot's style of soccer, but has not been involved in the negotiations over his potential appointment.