Winkfield's Quest For Derby Hat-Trick Tainted By Predjudice
By: William F. Reed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 22, 2003) - A century ago, the big story heading into the Kentucky Derby was black jockey Jimmy Winkfield's bid to win the race for a third consecutive year. After triumphing on His Eminence in 1901 and Alan-a-Dale in '02, Winkfield had the mount on Early, the overwhelming favorite in the six-horse field for the 29th running on May 2, 1903.

Up to that time, the Derby had been dominated by black jockeys such as Winkfield, the wondrous Isaac Murphy, and James "Soup" Perkins. Nevertheless, as we shall see, the racetrack was hardly an oasis of racial tolerance.

In 1903, the Civil War had been over for only 38 years, meaning that many whites in the South still were bitter over the end of slavery. As the history books indicate, a couple of bigots were involved in costing Winkfield his third consecutive Derby victory.

The first was Jake Holtman, the Derby starter. In those days before the mechanical starting gate, the starter's job was to get the field into as even a line as possible behind a web barrier before he fired his gun to send them off and running.

At the 1903 Derby, Holtman had such a hard time getting the field aligned that he took out his frustration on the jockeys, particularly Winkfield, who ruined one start by suddenly turning Early.

"You little nigger," yelled Holtman according to a story in the Louisville Courier-Journal, "Who told you that you knew how to ride? You are not down in New Orleans now, so come on and get in line."

Winkfield had Early on the lead turning for home, but jockey Henry Booker, riding Judge Himes, moved up along the rail to challenge the favorite heading into the final quarter mile.

This is when when Winkfield encountered Bigot No. 2.

"Winkfield's arms were hanging loosely and I thought that Early was fighting for his head," Booker was quoted in the Courier-Journal. "As soon as I got upon even terms with Early, I took special note of his condition.

"Winkfield turned around at me and laughed. It was then I was sure I did not have a chance. That nigger, I was sure, was trying to make a sucker out of me. I thought he wanted me to come up to him so that he could draw off.

"I knew that I had all the others beat off, so I just went on. I passed Early. 'I have got that nigger beat,' I said to myself. And then I went to the bat (whip). Winkfield could not beat me..."

Indeed, Judge Himes defeated Early by three-quarters of a length. Early was six lengths ahead of the third-place Bourbon.

That fall, after a dispute with powerful owner John E. Madden, Winkfield left the country to ride in Poland, Russia, Austria, and Germany. He eventually settled in France in 1930 and quit riding to begin a training career.

He returned to the U.S. during World War II and set up a training operation in Aiken, S.C., but returned to France in 1953. He was 91 when he died in 1974, the year of the 100th Derby, in a suburb of Paris.

The 1903 loss on Early was Winkfield's last appearance in the Derby, and his '02 victory on Alan-a-Dale is the last time a black jockey has won the classic.

Before anybody screams anything about discrimination, however, it must be noted that Hispanic riders have been prominent in the Derby since Ismail Valenzuela won the 1958 race aboard Calumet Farm's Tim Tam.

Also, female jockeys have made occassional Derby appearances, albeit mostly on hopeless also-rans, since Diane Crump broke the gender barrier in 1970, when she finished 15th on Fathom.

The only black jockey competing at the highest level today is Marlon St. Julien, who became the first African-American jockey to ride in the Derby since 1911, when he guided Godolphin's Curule to a seventh-place finish in Derby 126. St. Julien would surely like to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Winkfield's last Derby ride by getting a mount in this year's race.

And by the way, no jockey has ever won the Derby three years in a row.

Native Kentuckian William F. Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 43 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report and covered Kentucky Derby 128 for kentuckyderby.com. He will be filing frequent installments for CDSN's (Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network) websites throughout 2003.

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