The Kentucky Derby, the first of the “Triple Crown” of thoroughbred horse racing, began May 17, 1875. The odds were good that a Black jockey would win the prestigious contest, with Oliver Lewis becoming the first to do so.
Lewis, 19, was a Kentucky native who climbed atop Aristides, a horse trained by a Black man and former slave, Ansel Williamson. Among the field of riders at the Louisville Jockey Club, 13 of the 15 riders were Black, which wasn’t uncommon at the tail end of the 19th Century and considering the sport’s popularity across the deep South.