Of the 15 jockeys who thundered across the finish line in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, 13 of them were Black.
In the 19th century, Black jockeys dominated the horse racing industry, but later, because of the Jim Crow era which enforced racial segregation, they all but disappeared from the sport for decades.
Like so many aspects of this country, the thoroughbred racing industry was built on the legacy of enslaved or formerly enslaved people. Churchill Downs, the iconic racetrack in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby runs each year, opened a decade after the Civil War when Black workers were key players at horse stables and Southern farms. The Kentucky Derby Museum, 704 Central Ave., launched a permanent exhibit in 1993 to honor African Americans' deeply rooted legacy in the sport.
Black jockeys, trainers, and grooms were key players in the earliest runnings of the Kentucky Derby, and in 2021, that exhibit was expanded and moved to a more prominent place on the museum’s first floor.
With a little help from Chris Goodlett, the museum’s senior director of curatorial and educational affairs, The Courier Journal spent some time learning a few lesser-known facts and stories about Black jockeys and the Kentucky Derby.
Here are seven things you may not know about Black jockeys.
1. How did Black jockeys get their start in racing?
Horse racing was extremely popular in the southern states during the 19th century. At the time, plantation culture was prominent, and before the Civil War, many enslaved people worked in the stables with horses. After the abolition of slavery, many of the Black workers or their children became some of the most prolific riders and trainers in the sport’s early history.
“Everyone managing those plantations, those stables, taking care of those horses, riding those horses are all African American,” Goodlett said. “So they are the first professional jockeys.”
2. Who was the first Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby?
Oliver Lewis was the jockey who rode Aristides to victory in 1875 during the first Kentucky Derby. Lewis was a Black man, who was born into slavery.
“Oliver Lewis never rode in another Derby, but he still will be etched in history for forever because he was the first one,” Goodlett said.
Another one of Lewis’s claims to fame came after he retired from racing. He developed detailed handicapping charts that became the precursor to information in modern racing programs.
3. Who was the most successful Black jockey?
Isaac Murphy was the son of an enslaved person in Fayette County. He rode in 11 Kentucky Derbys in the late 19th century and became the first jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby three times, two of which he won back-to-back, aboard Riley in 1890 and Kingman in 1891. In some circles, his talent and prowess have been compared to that of Muhammad Ali and boxing.
“Isaac Murphy is still considered by many in the industry to be the greatest jockey ever,” Goodlett said.
4. Who was the most recent Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby?
A Black jockey hasn’t won the Kentucky Derby since 1902 when Jimmy Winkfield rode Alan-a-Dale to victory. He also became the second jockey ever to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbys, having won with His Eminence in 1901.
As segregation plagued the United States, Winkfield left to ride in Europe. He had a successful career in Russia from 1904 to 1919, until the Bolshevik Revolution. From there he fled to France, where he retired from riding in 1930. He and his wife owned land and a racing stable in the town of Maisons-Laffitte. They sought refuge in the United States after Nazi forces occupied France during World War II, but then returned to Europe again in 1953.
In the early 1960s Winkfield was invited to a pre-Derby celebration as a guest of the National Turf Writers Association at The Brown Hotel, where, Goodlett said, he and his daughter were denied entrance through the front door because of segregation laws. After much discussion, they were eventually allowed inside.
“Here’s a gentleman that was revered in the industry, who was here to be honored at this banquet,” Goodlett said. “And in the era of segregation and Jim Crow, this was the experience for African Americans, often.”
5. Who are the youngest jockeys to ever race in the Kentucky Derby?
Alonzo Clayton and James "Soup" Perkins both won the Kentucky Derby when they were just 15 years old. They are tied as the youngest jockeys ever to win the race. Clayton won aboard Azra in 1892 and Perkins won aboard Halma in 1895.
6. Why did Black jockeys stop racing in the United States?
As Jim Crow laws were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, segregation spread throughout the United States' racing industry, too. The Jockey Club, which was the sport's governing body at the time, made it near to impossible for Black jockeys to get licensed, Goodlett said.
Physical violence toward Black jockeys was also common at racetracks. White jockeys would often try to run Black jockeys and the horses they were riding into the rails of the track, Goodlett added. That posed a threat to the jockey and the horse, which meant owners were also less likely to sign Black jockeys.
7. Are there any Black jockeys today?
In 2000, Marlon St. Julien became the first Black Jockey to race in the Kentucky Derby in more than eight decades. Patrick Husbands and Kevin Krigger also raced in the Kentucky Derby in 2006 and 2013, respectively.
Kendrick Carmouche, who is extremely popular on the New York racing circuit, took on the Run for the Roses in 2021 and finished 10th atop Bourbonic. Carmouche has $145 million in career earnings, according to Equibase.
BONUS: What is being done to grow the presence of people of color in the horse racing industry?
The Kentucky Derby Museum’s exhibit about Black influence in racing also stresses there are so many other roles in the industry that aren’t as front-facing as the jockeys and the trainers.
For example, Greg Harbut is a prominent bloodstock agent, who also owned 2020 Kentucky Derby competitor Necker Island. Harbut is also the great-grandson of Will Harbut, who was the legendary Man o’ War's groom.
The industry needs to elevate people of color in all aspects of racing, Goodlett said, whether it's in ownership, accounting, education, racetrack administration, tourism, or a slew of other roles that touch the sport. Places like The Legacy Equine Academy work with young people of color and encourage them to attend college and pursue equine, agriculture, natural resources, and environmental science degrees.
The Ed Brown Society, which is named for the Black man who trained the third Kentucky Derby winner, offers scholarships and internships to students interested in becoming trainers, farm managers, equine veterinarians, bloodstock agents or business professionals in other aspects of the thoroughbred industry.
Reach Courier Journal reporter Maggie Menderski at mmenderski@gannett.com.