The New York herald., 1922-05-21
NegrO's Prominent Part
on Early American Turf
Many of the Foremost Trainers and Riders Were Men
of African Descent in Great Days When Horses of
Stamina and Speed Ran Four-Me Heats
By GURNEY c. CUE.

was called, received gold medal pre-
sented by the Governor OF the State.
Gov. Herbert on this occasion made a
handsome speech, which was responded
to by Gen. II. J. Wells, owner of the
horse. The feeling shown by the Louis
lara turfman in this response. as re-
ported in the Spirit Of the Times, makes
it worthy of reproduction here as indi-
eating the admirable relations which
often existed between master and slave
In the days when man claimed prop
erty in mar. He said:
ITO Hark the world is indebted for the
renown Lecomte enjoys, and to him we
are indebted for the unsurpassed. and l
will say indispensable, time of :26.
After the State Post Stake I followed
Lecomte to the stable to see the effect OF
the race upon him. / found Hark de-
Jected and melancholy. He said: Mr..
Wells, you have the best horse in the
world To console him said We will
try him again, Hark.' To this he re-
piled: If you can get Abe to ride Le-
comte he will beat Lexington certain
Therefore, gentlemen, for the gray old
man / will give you tenfold thanks, and
he will appreciate this honor as the
crowning glory of his life And allow
me to ask who, from his unbending
honesty, his devotion, fidelity and skill
as trainer deserves a higher place in
the worlds esteem than Hark?"
Gen Wells did not own Hark. The
negro trainer then belonged to DR..
Merritt of Virginia.
Boston, the sire of both Lecomte and
Lexington, and himself the most sue
cuessful four-mier of his day, was rid
den by negro boy named Cornelius in
nearly a score of winning races during
the first three years of his turf career.
Bob Swim, who rode Lexington's great
con Longfellow in his memorable races
against Harry Bassett, with James Rowe
up. at Long Branch and Saratoga fifty
years ago. was a negro Jockey of the
first class, whose name figures in the
list of winning riders in numerous Inn
and 1880. Monk Overton, black Amer
ican who had his heyday at a little later
period, accomplished the unprecedented
feat Of riding six winners In one day
at Washington Park in Chicago on July
10. 1891. And James Lee, also black.
duplicated the feat by sweeping the card
OF six races at Churchill Downs in Louis
Vile on June s. 1907. pike" Barnes
and Willie Sims. who rode for the
Dwyer Brothers and other prominent
owners In the '9os. were In the front
rank among Jockeys of memorable
period while '"Tiny" Williams, who is
now training in the West, was also rated
as first class when he rode Ida Pick
wick, the grandam of Old Rosebud.
Isaac Murphy's Feats.
Perhaps the ablest of all later day
riders of African descent was Isaac Muir
ply. who has been called "the colored
A L. 4. .se
country ever produced" He graduated
from the Kentucky racing stable of Hunt
Reynolds but made his reputation with
the horses of Ed Corrigan. For him he
rode Riley. winner OF the Kentucky
Derby; Freeland. the conqueror Of Miss
Woodford, and Modesty. winner of the
first American Derby, as we'll as many
other good ones. 1t Is noteworthy that
Murphy rode the winners of four out
OF the first five renewals OF the Amer
lean Derby. while the odd race fell to
Tony Hamilton, another negro and a
veritable centaur In the way he sat a
horse. In the first five years Of the
Latonia Derby Murphy rode four win
ners OF the race. Many of his greatest
races were won with the horses Of ]. b.
Haggin, for whom he rode Firenze. Sal
vator and other star performers. Both
Murphy and Overton were uncanny
Judges of pace. It Is said that neither
OF them needed a watch ir. working a
horse. II q mile in l 40 was wanted
they could come within a second or two
OF the mark. And even after riding a
strange horse they could guess as closely
The time in which he had run the dis
tance so the old timers aver.
There are scores of other negro train
ers and riders whose achievements In
American racing deserve mention. which
space forbids. II men Of their color are
not now so prominent as in other days II
can be said that when horses ran four
mile heats It required a higher order
OF horscmanship to fit them and ride
them than 1t does when all races are
dashes and the average distance run
is less than one mile.
The last outstanding negro trainer
who had few equals among whites or
blacks. as a judge OF race horses and
their condition, was Ed Brown, better
known as Brown Dick" To him the
racing world owes the discovery of Ben
Brush, progenltor of so many prominent
winnere and sires of winners of the
present day Brown brought him out as
a two-year-old and was his owrer as
well as his trainer.
The almost complete disappearance OF
the negro as trainer and jockey In re-
cent Years is one OF the interesting and
remarkable phenomena of the American
turf. Having demonstrated his unusual
capacity as a horseman In slavery days
1t seemed only natural to expect that
when free he would attain a higher
place than before in the racing world,
where all mers are equal, according to
an oft heard saying. Far from gaining
n higher place, however, the negro has
virtually ceased to be a factor In the
sport save only as groom. Trainers say
that eighty per cent. OF all the grooms
to-day are negroes, yet they almost
never rise above that humble though all
important service. Why? Has the black
race lost It's skill II, the saddle? few
turfmen will tell you SO. when they are
talking for publication, but a great many
more will confess In confidence that the
absence OF black riders nowadays is due
TO the fact that too many OF the white
ores might combine to put them over
the fence II they encroached on the for
bidden field.