Diane Crump, the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, has died.

Diane Crump, who became the first woman to ride professionally and the first female jockey in the Kentucky Derby, has died at 77 after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Diane Crump, a pioneering jockey, has died at age 77. She was diagnosed in October with an aggressive form of brain cancer and died Thursday night in hospice care in Winchester, Virginia, her daughter, Della Payne, told The Associated Press. Crump rode professionally beginning in 1969 and became the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970. She recorded 228 career wins and rode her final race in 1998. Key details: - Crump died at 77 after an October diagnosis of an aggressive brain cancer, and her daughter reported she died in hospice in Winchester, Virginia. - She first rode professionally in 1969 and rode in the 1970 Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th on the mount Fathom. - Over her career she won 228 races and retired from racing in 1998. - Churchill Downs' president and the Kentucky Derby Museum issued statements noting her pioneering role for female jockeys, and she will be cremated with her ashes interred between her parents at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia. Summary: Racing officials and the Kentucky Derby Museum described Crump's career as a pioneering milestone for women in the sport. Her death at 77 follows a recent diagnosis of aggressive brain cancer. She will be cremated and her ashes interred between her parents in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia.