Friday, September 18, 2015

Trailblazers in Black History: The Jockeys of the First Kentucky Derby



Uploaded to YouTube on Jan 17, 2010

When one researches the very first Kentucky Derby, one will find that 13 of the 15 jockeys in the race were Black! Furthermore, of the first 28 Derby winners, 15 of them were black men. Going back to that first Kentucky Derby, held on May 17, 1875, the winner was a 19 year-old black native of Kentucky named Oliver Lewis. It was reported that mobs of white spectators cheered for Lewis as he rode his horse, ARISTIDES to a record setting victory. (Jabari Akhenamen)

Additional information is available here.

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