The Millstone Times March 2020

Allentown’s Jackie Ingrassia Receives New Jersey Horse Person of the Year By Pam Teel

Jacqueline Ingrassia is a harness racing driver and trainer. Ingrassia, a member of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey Board of Directors, is also a District 12 representative of the United States Trotting As- sociation. A versatile horsewoman, she is also involved with the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey. The Horse Person of the Year Award was presented on Jan 26, 2020, at the Hilton Gardens Inn, Hamilton Marketplace, by Douglas Fisher, Secretary of Agriculture. The Horse Person of the Year is selected by the recipients of the award of the three previous years. One of the nominators was Maggie Romano of Millstone Township, who herself has held the same title. Maggie felt that Jac- quie should receive the award because besides her own success, she has helped open doors and pave roads for females to enter into, get respect and success in a mostly male dominated industry of training and driving Standardbred horses. Jacquie has talked to girls on career days and exhibitions and has led by example. Jacquie has an impressive record winning 1,151 races, third most in history for a female driver. In 2000, she became the first and still only woman to win the Yonkers Trot, the milestone coming in the Triple Crown race with Goalfish. She was a 1999 inductee into the Jersey Shore Sports Hall of Fame and the only woman to drive in a $1-million race when she finished fourth with Southern Raider in the 1989 Woodrow Wilson Pace at The Meadowlands

Born in Ipswich in Great Britain, Jacquie started driving in races in the United States in 1970 when she was 23 years old. She topped the 1,000-victory plateau in 2003 and was honored by the New Jersey Horse Industry at a reception recognizing her achievement of driving 1,000 winners, becoming only the second woman in harness racing history to reach that milestone.

Despite a setback last year at the age of 72, when she was hurt while training, which included two broken wrists, a broken finger and bleeding on the brain and liver, Jacquie was able to come back to doing what she loves doing the most working with her horses.

Although she does not see herself as a role model to other women, her ability to stay strong in a male dominated world of racing and her drive for compe- tition comes from her mother, who instilled in her strong work ethics. Jacquie would just like to be remembered as a good horse person. It just so happens she’s a woman and if that might help someone pursue their own dreams then she’s all for being a bit of a trailblazer. Ingrassia, affectionately known as Lady J., spends her time racing along with her horse trainer husband Frank Ingrassia, who she met in 1972 at Yonkers Raceway NY. They were married in 1975. The two have run a public stable ever since they met. They train not only their own horses but also for other own- ers as well. They currently own all or part of 10 horses. They have lived in Upper Freehold for the past thirty-seven years. Jacquie is still racing primarily in Chester, Pa. and will resume racing this coming April.

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