Race Horse Men: How Slavery and Freedom Were Made at the Racetrack

by Katherine C. Mooney,
The Florida Courier, June 6, 2014

"One of the best points in the character of the colored men is their strong love and devotion to the racehorse," a writer for The Spirit of the Times declared in 1872. Indeed, throughout the 19th century, Katherine Mooney reveals, African-American slaves and freed men played pivotal roles in the sport of horseracing, as grooms, jockeys and trainers.