The first Kentucky Derby is won by African American jockey Oliver Lewis riding the horse Aristides. 14 of the 15 jockeys in the race are African Americans.
Oliver Lewis was born in 1856 in Fayette County, Kentucky; his parents were Goodson and Eleanor Lewis. Very little is known about Lewis's life, but according to the Black Athlete Web site he was "A family man, a husband and father of six children." Lewis was 19 years old in 1875 when he entered the inaugural Kentucky Derby riding Aristide, a colt owned by H. Price McGrath and trained by Ansel Williamson, who was also black. source
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3 comments:
I love that your are highlighting all of these accomplishments.
No problem, some of these facts I never knew myself until I searched for them...
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