The First Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports." On May 17, 1875 in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three year old horses would begin the very first Kentucky Derby. On this day 13 out of the 15 jockeys were Black. The first winner of the Kentucky Derby was a Black man named Oliver Lewis, a 19-year-old native Kentuckian who rode Aristides, a chestnut colt trained by a former slave to a record-setting victory. 15 of the first 29 Kentucky Derbys were won by Black jockeys. They were the first great American sports heroes. They were the inspiration for those little statues of Black men in racing outfits, popular in American front yards until they became a symbol of racial insensitivity. After the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision in 1896 which made racial segregation in public facilities now legal Blacks were no longer welcomed at the Kentucky Derby as spectators, groomers, trainers and even jockeys. By 1921, Black people disappeared from the Kentucky Derby all together and would not return until Marlon St. Julien rode in the year 2000.