Kenneland librarian discusses traveling exhibit at Brooks Place – Winchester Sun

In 2023, the Keeneland Library – which is affiliated with the well-known Keeneland Association, Inc. in Lexington – opened a groundbreaking exhibit entitled “The Heart of the Turf: The Black Pioneers of Racing.”

With the aim of informing the public about the lives and contributions of African-American horsemen and women, the event attracted great attention.

It is now a traveling exhibit that was recently presented at Rose Mary C. Brooks Place, just off Bypass Road. Keeneland Library Director Roda Ferraro also spoke during a breakfast Wednesday morning.

“We’ve had the exhibit here for a week … they’re great panels with a lot of wonderful photos and stories from that time,” said Tim Janes, executive director of Rose Mary C. Brooks Place. “We’re so grateful to have (Roda) come and talk to us.”

The exhibition highlights the lives and careers of 80 African Americans from the mid-19th century to the present and includes photographs and more, as well as biographical information that further honors their legacy.

Historically, Ferraro said, the southern states, including Kentucky, have always been at the forefront of horse racing.

But there is still more to learn.

“Many people don’t know what events led to this region becoming a center for black riders, especially in the years following the Civil War,” she said.

Thanks in part to the Kentucky Association, which existed from the late 1820s to 1933, many African Americans with ties to horse racing and their families lived in the East End of Lexington.

Among them were Hall of Fame jockeys Isaac Burns Murphy and Jimmy Winkfield, trainer Ansel Williamson and trainer and owner Edward Dudley Brown.

As expected, racism was a regrettable theme.

“It’s a difficult subject… there’s no doubt that the racing and breeding industry, like all industries in this country, has had problems with horse racing for a long time,” Ferraro said. “So much depended on when and where you were born in terms of the opportunities you had in racing and breeding.”

She went on to say that the story can be completely different for some people, depending on factors such as gender.

“If you were an (African American) born in the mid-1800s, you would have been exposed to this breeding and racing history at a very young age because you were enslaved,” she said. “If you were a woman born in the same time period and you were enslaved, you would never have worked with cattle. That just wouldn’t have happened.”

Ferraro teaches from a historical perspective, adding that in the years before baseball and other sports, horse racing had much greater importance on a national level.

“(During) most of the 19th century – a whole century of this country’s history – people were racing. It was the national pastime. It was a national sport,” she said. “Nothing compared to the attraction of the racetrack.”

Over time, horse racing became the first major sport to be fully integrated – even during slavery.

For some, the opportunity to compete was particularly rewarding.

In rare cases, a slave owner would offer his slaves freedom on the condition that they win a particular race.

More frequently, however, financial rewards were also included in the agreements.

“Interestingly, sometimes that (financial gain) was so extreme that this enslaved young man – 15 or 16 years old – had more cash on him than his owner,” Ferraro said. “That was the level of wealth that we could sometimes observe in this … system that encouraged slaves to live really well during their enslavement.”

Because of his skills as a trainer, one African-American in particular – Harry Lewis – was able to broker contracts with more than one of his previous owners.

After the Civil War, development continued and many traveled around the racetrack while their wives and families stayed at home.

Still, it may take a long time for opportunities to arise.

“Women, regardless of race, were not allowed to ride as jockeys until the late 1960s,” Ferraro said.

Therefore, later changes, although they benefited African Americans, had further effects.

“The civil rights movement and some of the changes we see in this exhibition have a much greater reach and impact on people, regardless of what they look like or where they come from,” Ferraro added.

Today, horse racing remains a top sport throughout the Commonwealth, testament to its enduring legacy.

If you are interested in learning more about the contributions of African Americans to the horse industry or hosting the traveling exhibit, “The Heart of The Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers,” you can visit Heart-Turf-Racings-Black-Pioneers.