Former Mid-Atlantic jockey Alison Hershbell died on February 17 in Philadelphia after a long illness. She was 30.

Hershbell had not ridden competitively since 2004. She began her career in 1992 and won 275 Thoroughbred races from 2,537 mounts. She also rode regularly in Arabian races at Delaware Park.

“Alison had a talent that I hadn’t seen before,” Hershbell’s fiance, Delaware Park-based trainer Mike Petro, told the Wilmington News-Journal. “All animals loved her. I don't think it was teaching or how she used the whip in races. Alison just knew how to get horses to run. She enjoyed riding, and horses knew that."

The funeral for Hershbell will be private.