How and Why Black Riders Were Driven from American Racetracks

In Jim Crow in the Saddle, Michael Leeds and Hugh Rockoff document the expulsion of African American jockeys from the Triple Crown races in 1890s. They find some evidence of prejudice by horse owners and the betting public, but conclude that the final push for expulsion came from White jockey who wanted to "draw the color line". Jimmy Winkfield was the last African-American to win a Triple-Crown race in 1902. He was one of the first African Americans to ride in a race for almost a century. The researchers do not find any evidence for racial prejudice for races run on Northern Triple Triple Cakes tracks, although they find evidence at the Kentucky Derby.

African American jockeys won the Kentucky Derby six times between 1890 and 1899.

Owners tacitly participated in the expulsion of African American jockeys from American racetracks. The researchers conclude that African Americans were victims of discrimination at multiple levels.