Horse

Thoroughbred turf racing in the 19th century, especially in the American South and particularly in Kentucky, held tremendous popularity among the gentry. For the owners and breeders of the most notable and decorated horses, the opportunity to be ushered into the winner’s circle came with it the admiration and jealousy of their peers, a raise in status, and the accumulation of substantial prize money.

Maintaining the optimal health and conditioning of a top racehorse requires significant attention, diligence, and effort. The Black men who cared for, trained, conditioned, jockeyed, and often bred these horses on behalf of the white Southern elite were mostly enslaved, while some were emancipated and chose to work for pay or racing profits. Many Northerners who sought to join the Southern racing circuit, like the novel’s Richard Ten Broeck, took advantage of the laws permitting enslavement when pursuing their horseracing related interests.

Without these Black men, Thoroughbred racing in America would not have achieved its notoriety and level of excellence. They held the expertise required to discern whether a horse was injured, colicky, exhausted, or otherwise in need of intervention or scratching from a race. They had the talent to devise training and conditioning programs uniquely suited to each horse, as well as the insight and intuition to discern how best to use the horse’s energy reserves to defeat their opponents, even while riding at full speed. Those who were enslaved in the years before the Emancipation Proclamation were prohibited from profiting personally from their efforts and skill sets. Even those who were emancipated at the time were barred from competing their own horses, relegated to the support systems that ensured glory for the white elites. Although Jarret’s father is a free Black man, he is forced to give up Lexington, and he cannot push for rightful ownership for fear of losing Jarret, who is still enslaved. In the end, he loses Jarret anyway, as he is unable to compete with the vast wealth of the white elite.

Once all were emancipated, many Black men who had participated in the sport faced dangerous retribution should they try to continue as autonomous individuals. In the novel, Jarret mentions in his conversation to the Colonel at Turf, Field and Farm the pronounced increase in hostility toward participants of color in the Thoroughbred racing scene in the aftermath of the Civil War. Where once these valued grooms, trainers, and jockeys were seen as integral to the sport, these newly emancipated horsemen—now able to legally own their own horses, amass significant earnings, and influence the culture of racing—are seen as an obstacle and affront to Southern sensibilities. Bullied out of the sport or worse, Black men were not only denied the credit they deserved for their contributions, but they were ostracized by those they had once helped or opposed in competition. Brooks notes that racism in equine sports continues in the 21st century, as Theo, a Black former polo star, was forced to quit his beloved sport because of harassment.