Kentucky Derby's Finest

In many instances the hardships of slavery made it necessary for the slaves to use their ingenuity to invent and improvise to make the work easier on the plantation. This lead to experiences and discoveries that was instrumental in putting the talents of freed slaves into lucrative opportunities that paid off in sports, businesses and other methods to support themselves. One such opportunity took some black men into racing horses.

Former slaves who worked in the horse stables of the Southern plantation owners gained this experience by taking care of the horses. The slaves would groom, ride and train the horses giving them the knowledge and experience to develop a relationship with the horses. Once freed, many of the slaves went on to be very successful jockeys in the Churchill Downs events.

During the 1800s black jockeys were at the height of their careers and dominated the sport in the southern states to win fifteen of the twenty eight races in the Kentucky Derby. In the first Kentucky Derby, thirteen of the fifteen riders were black jockeys and it was a nineteen year old black jockey, 

Oliver Lewis who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 riding Aristides. Lewis also analyzed race data and his influence was instrumental in the modern race charts used today.

Isaac Burns Murphy is considered one of the greatest thoroughbred racers of his time; he won three Kentucky Derbies, in 1884, 1890 and 1891. Murphy's style of riding was the traditional upright English position, while other jockeys rode in the common seated style. Murphy was the highest paid disc jockey with a yearly salary of $10,000 to 20,000 excluding his bonuses, the first Black to own several race horses and he invested in real estate properties. On June 25, 1890, Murphy raced in the most memorable contest of his life. Matched against a white counterpart, jockey Ed “Snapper” Garrison; the race would settle the debate as to which rider was the better jockey. In a contest that had definite racial overtones, Murphy was victorious. - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/murphy-isaac-burns-1861-1896#sthash.iMKdTcQQ.dpuf

Jerome Park in New York, William Walker , an eleven year old jockey rode for the first time. At twelve years old, he won his first race in Lexington. In 1875, Walker came in fourth place. Going on to the next year he finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby. Finally in 1877, at seventeen, Walker captured the Kentucky Derby riding Baden Baden for the win. William Walker went on to ride Ten Broeck against the race horse, Mollie McCarty at the Louisville Jockey Club in 1876 for the win. The race inspired the bluegrass song "Molly and Tenbrooks."

When Walker retired he continued as a trainer, giving owners advice on the premium horses to purchase and breed. His knowledge and experience of horse pedigree was superior and respected by many. William Walker's career as a jockey lasted nearly 25 years. He finished his career in the horse industry as a clocker at Churchill Downs for the spring and fall meets.

Willie Simms was born on this date in 1870. He was an African American horse jockey.

Born near Augusta, GA, Simms began racing in 1887, and was one of the most successful to use the short stirrup that gave the rider a crouching posture. En route to winning the United States riding title in 1893 and 1894, Simms won back-to-back Belmont Stakes. The following year, he raced in England where he became the first American jockey to win with an American horse in that country. In America, Simms won the 1896 Kentucky Derby in its first time as a one and a quarter mile race.

He repeated as the Derby winner in 1898, and went on to take the Preakness Stakes a few weeks later, making him the only African American jockey to win all of the Triple Crown races. During a brilliant 14-year career, Simms rode some of the great thoroughbred racehorses of the day such as two-time Horse of the Year winner, Henry of Navarre.

He finished his riding career with 1,125 wins and in 1977 was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. http://www.aaregistry.org/

Former slaves and their sons starred at Churchill Downs in the 1800s. Not only was 1875 winner Aristides ridden by an African-American, he was trained by a former slave known for superb horsemanship, Ansel Williamson. Much like the equines he conditioned, Williamson was sold from owner to owner. In 1864, R.A. Alexander, proprietor of the famed Woodburn Stud Farm, purchased Williamson. After emancipation, the former slave continued to work with his former master as did a standout black jockey named Ed Brown who would train the 1877 Kentucky Derby winner Baden-Baden and eventually operate his own racing stable.

While the 1880s saw professional baseball draw the color line, not to be broken until the Brooklyn Dodgers called up Jackie Robinson in 1947, African-Americans continued to thrive on the track, then, suddenly, the rich African-American tradition at Churchill Downs ended. The rising tide of institutional racism that swept across Gilded Age America finally seeped into the world of horse racing. Jim Crow was on the ascent, and the U.S. Supreme Court itself blessed segregation in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Emboldened by the societal changes, resentful white jockeys at northern raceways conspired to force blacks off the track, in some cases literally. During the 1900 racing season, white jockeys in New York warned trainers and owners not to mount any black riders if they expected to win. They carried out their threats by boxing in black jockeys and riding them into—and sometimes over—the rails. In a cruel irony, free sons of former slaves felt the sting of whips directed their ways during races. Race officials looked the other way. Owners realized that black riders had little chance of winning given the interference. Even Willie Simms, the only African-American jockey to win all three of the Triple Crown events, had to beg for a mount.

By 1904, black riders had been virtually banned from the major racetracks, including Churchill Downs, and the complexion of the Kentucky Derby had been changed forever. Black participation dwindled, and no African-American rode the race between 1921 and 2000, when Marlon St. Julien guided Curule to a seventh-place finish. www.history.com