American sports, like most American institutions, have a history of shameful racism, and this includes thoroughbred horse racing, as anyone who has scanned the insulting and stereotypical names of some racehorses of the decade will confirm. At the same time, one of the inspiring things about sports is that, sometimes at least, excellence triumphs even in the face of prejudice, and the history of American Thoroughbred racing will bear this out as well. The most storied race in American horse racing, the Kentucky Derby is especially notable in its early years for its importance as a venue for African-American jockeys. Here we take a look at some of the great African-American horsemen in history.

The first Kentucky Derby winner, in fact, was an African-American man, Oliver Lewis, who led Aristides to a two-length win (and an American record mile-and-a-half) that stunned onlookers. Aristides, after all, entered the race as a mere leader from Chesapeake, a highly favored stablemate who blew the race faster than you can say “Dean yell.” This surprised both the crowd and the rider, who sought the advice of the horse’s owner, HP McGrath. McGrath yelled “Go ahead!” And so Lewis did.

Lewis’s contributions to racing history don’t end with his victory in the Derby (or his near victory at Belmont that same year); at a time when ex-jockeys were still allowed to do so, he later worked for a bookie, developing a system for recording the results of past races which clearly laid the foundation for the Daily Racing Form system.

Only next to the career of someone like Isaac Murphy, a trailblazer like Lewis might seem secondary. The son of a Civil War veteran who fought -and died- for the Union Army, Isaac Murphy won the Derby three times, twice in a row -riding Buchanan in 1884, Riley in 1890 and Kingman in 1891- and was the first to achieve either feat. Another achievement for Murphy – winning the Derby, Oaks and Clark Handicap in one year – 1884 has yet to be equalled. Sadly, this racing phenom died of pneumonia at the tragically young age of 35, in 1896.

Kansas City-born Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton won the 1892 Kentucky Derby by a nose, riding Azra. Most impressively, Clayton was a minor, only fifteen years old, and a relative newcomer to horse racing, having started as a practicing jockey in 1888 and winning the first victory of his career in 1890. He entered the Derby four times during his career, twice taking second and second place. once winning third in addition to that historic 1892 win. Other career highlights of his include a Churchill Downs crown in 1893 and a third-place finish at the Preakness in 1896.

In fact, several of the early Kentucky Derby winners were African-American. Among them is Erskine Henderson, riding Joe Cotton into the winner’s circle in 1885 after near misses (on other horses) in the 1882 and 1883 Derbies (where he placed ninth and seventh). We also find Apollo’s jockey in the 1882 Derby, Babe Hurd, a later steeplechase star, and, tragically, George Garrett Lewis, whose victory riding Fonso in the 1880 Derby is no consolation for his death, two months later, from internal injuries. caused by a month-long racing accident at the reported age of 18.

In fact, the list of African-American jockeys participating in the Kentucky Derby becomes more impressive the more we look at it. There’s Isaac Lewis, competing in every Derby from 1886 to 1889, including a win in 1887 aboard the Montrose. That’s not the impressive part: Later on the same day in 1887, he wins both Frank Fehr City Brewery Purse heats on a different horse, Brookful.

Finally, there is Marlon St. Julien, who joined this esteemed list by entering the 126th Kentucky Derby, after 79 years without an African-American runner in America’s most famous race. The jockey from Lafayette, Louisiana, was a late starter in horse racing: he had been a footballer, perhaps the least likely previous career of any jockey, but he changed his interest in the sport after his 11th year. He emerged from a tragic five-horse accident that, among other things, broke his sternum to race across the United States, including the inaugural 1997 season at Lone Star Park and at Fair Grounds in Louisiana.