LouisvilleKY play by Larry Muhammad Begins April 30
They’re a rare sight today, but African-American riders dominated the early years of the Kentucky Derby, winning 15 of the first 28, including the inaugural run May 17, 1875.
One of the most famous was Jimmy Winkfield, arguably the first superstar jockey who rode winners at racetracks spanning a quarter of the globe. He was earning $100,000 a year in the early 1900s.
This fantastic Horseracing saga, with all the backside intrigue and fortunes changing hands against the backdrop of 20th century war and upheaval, is performed live each night of Derby week in the Larry Muhammad play JOCKEY JIM.
Winkfield rubbed shoulders with royalty, married an heiress, and counted Josephine Baker, Bing Crosby and Paul Robeson among his admiring friends. Last of the great black jockeys, he won the Derby in 1901 and 1902, then went to Russia and became a national phenomenon. He helped evacuate the racing community during the Bolshevik revolution, relocated to France, and was a prosperous trainer until Nazi occupation during World War 2 forced his return almost destitute to a racially-segregated America, where black jockeys had become unknown figures of a forgotten past.
Suddenly the famous black Horseman and his aristocratic wife were transformed into a stable hand and domestic servant, struggling to hold together a mixed marriage that was illegal in most states.
Though haunted by ghosts of greatness past and ridiculed as a lunatic and preposterous liar, Winkfield used competitive drive and equestrian-estate/”>equestrian genius to overcome bigotry and reclaim a forgotten legacy.
WHEN: April 30, May 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, each night at 8 pm
WHERE: Henry Clay Theater, 604 S. Third St., Louisville.
ADMISSION: $20 cash at the door.
RESER ATIONS: kyblackrep@gmail.com or 502-727-7972.
