![]() The horse he rode, Aristides, was trained by a Black trainer, Ansel Williamson.įifteen of the first 28 Derbys were won by Black jockeys.īy the 20th century, as the Jim Crow era began to take hold of the South, white jockeys were demanding segregation and the removal of Black jockeys from the sport.īy the 1890s, Kentucky began to enact more segregation laws, aligning itself more with policies that were already in place in other Southern states. Oliver Lewis, who was born in Fayette County, Kentucky, was the first jockey to win the Derby on May 1, 1875. In 1875, the inaugural year of the Derby, 13 of the 15 jockeys who competed were Black. The majority of the jockeys in the 19th century were Black. Since 2000, there have only been three other Black jockeys in the Derby, including Kendrick Carmouche who broke a seven year streak in 2021. Julien became the first Black man to race in the Derby since 1921. In the late 19th century in the first few decades of the Derby's inception, Black jockeys were winning so often that they were ultimately expelled. But these days, finding a Black jockey at the Derby is a rare occasion. Historically, Black jockeys used to dominate the sport. ![]() When the 148th Kentucky Derby takes off on Saturday, May 7th, for what's dubbed as "The Greatest Two Minutes of Sports," most viewers will probably be more focused on the horses than the jockeys sitting atop them. However since 1921, there have only been four Black men who have competed in the Derby. ![]() The 148th Kentucky Derby takes off on Saturday, May 7th.īlack jockeys once dominated the sport-15 of the first 28 Derbys were won by Black jockeys. Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images Flying Torpedo, being positioned for viewing in a paddock by an African American jockey and handler at Harlem Race Track in Illinois in 1903. ![]()
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