Black in the Saddle

White people are not the only ones that are successful at horse racing, and as a matter of fact blacks were a lot of the times higher placed than whites, in the early years of the Derby. The accomplishments of African-American derby riders and trainers in the early years of the sport are often forgotten, but in the years between the Civil War and the turn of the century, blacks were very influential. Between 1875 and 1902, African-American jockeys won 15 of the 28 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. On May 11, 1892, African-American jockey Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton, age 15, became the youngest rider to win the Derby, and in the first Kentucky Derby Aristides was trained by African-American Ansel Williamson and guided to victory by Oliver Lewis, one of 15 black jockeys in that race.