Black Winning Jockeys in the Kentucky Derby [Paperback]

James Robert Saunders (Author), Monica Renae Saunders (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 2002

Oliver Lewis was champion jockey of the Kentucky Derby in 1875 with a winning race time of two minutes and 37 seconds. Jockey Willie Simms won in 1896, bringing his horse in at two minutes and seven seconds. James Winkfield was the winning jockey in both 1901 and 1902 with winning race times of two minutes and seven seconds and two minutes and eight seconds, respectively. Each of these men possessed the skill and power necessary to spur a horse to glorious victory. All are members of the small, select group of Derby-winning jockeys who were African Americans. The stakes were high: Black jockeys who won a race in the late 1700s and 1800s sometimes won freedom from slavery as well.

This work examines the presence of black jockeys in the Kentucky Derby, from the first instance of slaves working as stable hands and tending their masters’ horses to the first black jockey to win the prestigious Kentucky Derby in 1875 and the continued participation of black jockeys in the Kentucky Derby. Black owners and trainers in the Kentucky Derby are also discussed. Three appendices list black winning jockeys, black trainers and black owners of Kentucky Derby horses.

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About the Author

James Robert Saunders is a professor of English at Purdue University. He is also the author of Tightrope Walk: Identity, Survival and the Corporate World in African American Literature (1997, $29.95) and coauthor of The Dorothy West Martha’s Vineyard (2001, $29.95) and Urban Renewal and the End of Black Culture in Charlottesville, Virginia (1998, $29.95). Lifelong equestrian Monica Renae Saunders is a writer and researcher living in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (November 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786414022
• ISBN-13: 978-0786414024
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,435,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rich History Of Triumph And Tragedy, March 5, 2007

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This review is from: Black Winning Jockeys in the Kentucky Derby (Paperback)

Between the years 1875-1902, a dozen black jockeys were aboard winning mounts 16 times in the Kentucky Derby. There hasn't been a black jockey in the winner's circle since Jimmy Winkfield 105 years ago.

In an information-packed 110 pages, authors James Robert Saunders and Monica Renae Saunders takes the reader back to a forgotten period in American history that was yet another victim to the hate of institutionalized racism.

Biographies of the 12 jockeys are richly supplemented with an overview of society and the sport, along with background material that dates back to slavery, when most jobs in the plantation stables were done by slaves & jockeys as young as 10 or 11 piloted the Thoroughbreds in races throughout the nation.

How bizarre it is that opportunities in the sport that began with slavery were then destroyed by slavery in the guise of Jim Crow. The reverberations are still felt today, as opportunities at the top levels of the sport have remained difficult - if not impossible - for blacks to achieve.

The appendix includes lists of champion jockeys, trainers who had runners in the race and owners who had starters in the field. The Thoroughbred owners include Berry Gordy and Stanley Burrell, better-known as MC Hammer, whose racer was aptly named, Dance Floor.

This is a story of triumph in the face of great odds and the tragedy of a nation that seeminngly can't ride fast enough away from the real history of racism in society & sports.