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First black
man rides
in 79 years
■The first black jockey
since 1921 will ride at the
Kentucky Derby on Saturday
By Beth Harris
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Marlon
St. Julien was awakened from a
nap by a phone call that lasted
only a few minutes but spanned
79 years of Kentucky Derby his
tory.
The caller, a reporter, informed
him that he will be the first black
jockey since 1921 to ride in the
world’s most famous horse race.
“I just want to be considered as
one of the best riders in the coun
try, whether black, white, purple,
blue or brown,” he said Thursday
while resting between races in
the Churchill Downs jockeys’
room. “I also want to leave the
game with a lot of respect and say
I accomplished a lot in my ca
reer.”
St. Julien will ride Curule, a
50-to-l long shot who earned a
spot in the 19-horse field
Wednesday when another horse,
Harlan Traveler, pulled out. Cu
rule is owned by Godolphin Rac
ing, which represents two sheiks
who are members of Dubai’s rul
ing family.
“I get the chills watching it on
TV, so I’ll get a lot more goose
bumps coming out there” on Sat
urday, the 28-year-old St, Julien
said. “I’m sure it’ll be a feeling of
a lifetime.”
St. Julien, from Lafayette, La.,
became interested in racing
through three uncles who had
horses when he was young. Five
foot-4 and 111 pounds, he rode
in his first race at 17 and won for
the first time in 1989.
The only discouragement St.
Julien said he heard was from
other blacks in his hometown.
They told him he would never
succeed in the predominantly
white sport.
“I proved them all wrong,” he
said.
Black jockeys dominated the
early years of the Kentucky Der
by. Thirteen of the 15 riders in
the first Derby in 1875 were
black, and blacks won 15 of the
Derby’s first 28 runnings.
Isaac Murphy was the most
successful, becoming the first to
win three Derbies and first to win
in consecutive years (1884,1890
and 1891).
James Winkfield was the last
black jockey to win the Derby,
riding consecutive champions in
1901-02. The last black jockey in
the race, Henry King, finished
10th aboard 81-1 long-shot Plan
et.
By the early 1900s, the pres
ence of black riders and trainers
in the Derby began decreasing,
largely because of resentment
from the white racing communi
ty and the migration of blacks
from Southern farms to Northern
cities.
Nowadays, there aren’t many
black exercise riders and that’s
how many successful jockeys
start, said Cot Campbell, co-own
er of Derby horses Impeachment
and Trippi.
He said he doesn’t believe dis
crimination has been an issue for
St. Julien, who rode a winner for
Campbell last Sunday at
Churchill Downs.
“He thinks he’s hot and he is,”
said Campbell, who is white.
“He’s in the paddock tipping his
hat and kissing the ladies.”