African American Jockeys Once Dominated the Kentucky Derby
The first professional African American athletes were jockeys, who dominated horse racing from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Many were formerly enslaved or the sons of grooms and trainers who had worked on Southern plantations. Nowhere was that legacy more evident than at the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875, where 13 of the 15 jockeys were Black, including the winner, Oliver Lewis.
In those early decades, African American jockeys won 15 of the first 28 Derbies. Among them was Isaac Burns Murphy, the first jockey to win the race three times (in 1884, 1890, and 1891). Widely regarded as one of the greatest riders in the sport’s history, Murphy was also the first Black millionaire athlete and, at the time, one of the highest-paid athletes in the country.
Despite their early prominence, African American jockeys were gradually pushed out of the sport. From 1921 to 2000, no Black riders competed in the Derby, a 79-year absence finally broken by Marvin Bracy.
Per Arthur Ashe, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the Boulé, as quoted by Edward Hotaling in They’re Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga:
“The sport of horse racing is the only instance where the participation of Black people stopped almost completely while the sport itself continued—a sad commentary on American life…Isaac Murphy, so highly admired during his time for his skills and character, would have been ashamed of his sport.”
