Churchill Spring Stakes Worth Record $13.44 Million

Churchill Downs will offer 40 stakes races worth a record $13.44 million during its upcoming Spring Meet, which runs from Apr. 24 through June 26. The nine-week meeting kicks off Derby week with 18 stakes worth $10.14 million and culminating with the 147th running of the $3-million GI Kentucky Derby May 1. The Derby day stakes line-up includes the $1-million GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic; $500,000 GI Churchill Downs S. presented by Ford; and $500,000 GI Derby City Distaff. The marquee race day also includes the $500,000 GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile; $500,000 GII Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E; and $500,000 GII American Turf.

The $1.25-million GI Kentucky Oaks headlines an Apr. 30 card which also includes the $500,000 GI La Troienne S.; $400,000 GII Alysheba S.; $300,000 GII Eight Belles presented by Smithfield; $300,000 GII Edgewood S.; and $250,000 GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint presented by Sysco.

The $600,000 GII Stephen Foster S. anchors a June 26 card which also includes the $250,000 GII Fleur de Lis S.; $250,000 GII Wise Dan S.; and $125,000 GIII Bashford Manor S.

Race to Honor Three-Time Derby-Winning Jockey

The upcoming Churchill spring meet will recognize the legacy of legendary African-American jockey Isaac Murphy with the Apr. 27 running of the $120,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon.

“Churchill Downs strongly believes in preserving and sharing the stories of the African-American jockeys who are an integral part of the legacy of the Kentucky Derby,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson. “As we continue to recognize key contributors to our storied history, we believe now more than ever, it is critical to develop new ways to share these stories widely by incorporating them into our Derby Week traditions.

“Since 2015, Churchill Downs has kicked off Derby Week on Opening Night by recognizing William “Billy” Walker, Sr. with the William Walker S. This year, it is a privilege to also honor Isaac Murphy by re-naming the Champions Day Marathon to the Isaac Murphy Marathon. It is important to amplify the stories of these great jockeys, to acknowledge the painful truths that led to their exclusion from horse racing in our country more than 100 years ago and to herald their legendary contributions to our sport and to the Kentucky Derby.”

More information about Murphy is detailed online at www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/jockey/isaac-b-murphy.

The post Churchill Spring Stakes Worth Record $13.44 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Kentucky Derby Museum Launches New African Americans In Thoroughbred Racing Tour

The Kentucky Derby Museum is thrilled to amplify in a new way the stories of Black horsemen, who not only dominated the sport of Thoroughbred racing in the early days of the Kentucky Derby but continue to make a lasting mark on its legacy. Oliver Lewis. Isaac Murphy. Ansel Williamson. These are just a handful of legendary names that guests will learn about during two new immersive opportunities at Kentucky Derby Museum.

On the new African Americans in Racing Tour, made possible with support from Churchill Downs and the James Graham Brown Foundation, guests will walk through Churchill Downs Racetrack while making historically significant stops along the way on this 90 minute experience. Through history, including the Jim Crow era that led to the exclusion of Black jockeys from the sport, and to modern times, guests will learn about the profound impact African Americans have made on horse racing from the very beginning. Visitors will hear incredible stories of how 13 of the 15 horses in the first-ever Kentucky Derby were ridden by Black jockeys, and 15 of the first 28 Derby winners were ridden by Black jockeys. This tour is now available Saturdays at 1 p.m. and is $15 per person.

Secondly, the Museum is launching the “Proud of My Calling” experience, a monthly, 60-minute immersive program where visitors are introduced to incredible Black horsemen through costumed actors, historic paintings, photos and objects from the past. Meet greats like Oliver Lewis, Isaac Murphy and Ansel Williamson. Lewis, a Black jockey, rode Aristides to victory in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875. Williamson, born enslaved, became a successful trainer, nabbing wins with horses including Aristides in that inaugural Derby. Murphy, also born enslaved, is considered one of the greatest jockeys of all time, winning three Kentucky Derbys and an estimated 44% of his races. This experience is offered monthly and is $20 per person, starting March 27.

These two exciting new opportunities are part of Louisville Tourism's Unfiltered Truth Collection, which features several local attractions highlighting African American contributions to the city and culture.

In line with the Museum's non-profit mission to engage, educate and excite everyone about the extraordinary experience that is the Kentucky Derby, the Museum has been sharing the important role African Americans have had on the Derby for decades. Since 1993, African Americans in Thoroughbred Racing, a permanent exhibit, has chronicled the impact African Americans have had on the Thoroughbred industry and the Kentucky Derby, and features some of the most significant artifacts in the Museum's collection.
Additionally, the Museum's Education Team teaches thousands of students each year about this important history through field trips and in-school teaching.

Coming in Spring 2021, Kentucky Derby Museum is redesigning and moving its African Americans in Thoroughbred Racing exhibit to a larger and more prominent location within the Museum, as well as expanding the footprint of the exhibit. This will allow the Museum to display more of its collection, add new components, and provide visitors the best experience possible. This exhibit will also feature oral history interviews conducted with Louisville's African American community. This expansion is also made possible through support from Churchill Downs and the James Graham Brown Foundation.

Additionally, a traveling African Americans in Thoroughbred Racing exhibit will be created to travel to museums, community centers, visitor centers and churches.

Jockey Oliver Lewis

Jimmy Winkfield aboard Alan A Dale

The post Kentucky Derby Museum Launches New African Americans In Thoroughbred Racing Tour appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The Sculptor In The Tack Room: Horses Kept Calling Maksimovic Back To The Racetrack

Great writers such as Red Smith and Damon Runyon always maintained the best stories were on the backside of racetracks. If they had known Djuro “Max” Maksimovic, they would have pointed to him as proof. Arguably (or maybe inarguably) Max was the most unusual man ever to walk a backside shedrow.

I came to know Max through a phone call from David Schneck, racetrack representative for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, whose office on the Churchill Downs backside was next to the 12 foot by 12 foot tack room that was home and hearth to Max.

David called me to tell me about a clay sculpture Max created of jockey Isaac Murphy astride 1884 Kentucky Derby winner Buchanan. The hope was that a story in The Blood-Horse would generate interest and funding for a bronze casting. The goal was to see the casting displayed permanently in the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs or even the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

There may have been an ultimate and ulterior goal, however, that was far more important: to see a gifted man find what he had lost on the backside.

I met Max, at the time a groom for then-trainer Steve Penrod, in David's office after morning work for barn workers, which ends around 11 a.m. and begins at anywhere from 4 to 5 a.m.

Max's lined, goateed face was quintessentially Slavic, and he was a Serb from what was then Yugoslavia. If you were casting extras in a movie about Lenin-era Russia and the Russian Revolution, Max would be an easy choice.

His goateed face was also that of an artist and an intellectual. His eyes were squinted, like many whose work is outdoors, and they shone and flashed as he spoke. His tanned skin was acquiring the sags and wrinkles that await most of us in old age. He was 60 at the time. If you saw a photo of Max with a neutral background or in an environment away from the racetrack, you might place him mentally in a museum gallery or an artist's studio. A backside of a racetrack is the last place you'd expect to find him.

You most definitely would not have placed a former Fulbright Scholar there.

Giftedness with sculpting was manifest early in his life through a literally crafty means of subterfuge to avoid finishing meals as a child. He described himself in childhood as a “bad doer,” racetrack parlance for a horse that doesn't eat well.

“I would take pieces of bread and form small animal figurines. My parents would be so taken with what I had made, they would forget I was supposed to be eating the bread,” he recalled with a laugh.

An early interest in horses may have come from his father's position as chief veterinarian in a still horse-drawn Yugoslav military after World War II.

His father's position also brought him before Marshal Tito, president of Yugoslavia, when he was hospitalized as a child, and the legendary national leader visited the hospital for the kind of appearances heads of state make for photo opportunities.

“When Tito came to visit I was introduced to him as 'our little sculptor,'” Max recalled. “Tito asked if I needed anything and I said, 'Yes. I don't have any clay.'

“He snapped his fingers and one of his aides wrote something down on a pad. I was teased by the other kids that Tito would forget. Then the clay arrived from Italy.

“It was the best clay there was.”

In Max's accented English he became, in his words, “some kind of child prodigy.” Entered in a competition for art students in Max's native city of Belgrade, his entry was declared Best in Show, but he almost didn't collect his award. The judge called his mother to tell her work entered under Max's name was indeed, the most outstanding, but there was a problem: they didn't know if Max had really sculpted it. After all, he was only nine years old competing against the best Belgrade art students, some who were twice his age.

“My mother called this lady and sent me to see one of the judges with some clay,” he said. “I told this lady I'd make her anything she wanted me to make and I made her a cow. I did it in two minutes with ears, split hooves, tail, and horns.

“She said, 'That's all I need to see.'”

Max received the award.

Max's first experience with horses was when his father was assigned to duty with a Yugoslav military detachment in Burma. It was there that a teenaged Max joined a riding club and wound up driving trotters in harness racing.  Returning to Yugoslavia after his father's posting, Max was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade. Max related how he never really tried at his studies although finishing at the top of his class. This was a precursor of things to come in his life — “My mind was on horses.”

It was on completion of academy studies that a Fulbright Scholarship became part of Max's story. It took him to Boston University to study sculpture, but only for one year. Iron Curtain Yugoslavia blocked customary two-year tenures for nationals receiving a Fulbright in fear that they would not return home.

Max left the university after one year — to lead horses in the shedrow of barns on the backside of Suffolk Downs in Boston.

The reasons for this destination rather than a studio or even a teaching position in America or back home in Yugoslavia are open to a lot of speculation among friends and others who came to know Max. He shrugged with a mixture of both regret and resignation over a lifetime spent on the racetrack.

“If I had to live my life all over again, I would try the art way,” as he described it. “I probably would, but…” He never finished the sentence.

Art, however, found Max on the backside. One day at Churchill Downs, a horse owner and client of Steve Penrod saw Max creating a clay horse for a child.

“She watched me and asked if I would be so kind to make her one. Later, she went to an art store and bought me some clay.

“It sat around and I never did anything with it.”

Two years later, the late wife of Steve Penrod told Max that the owner was dying of cancer.

Others in the KTA office looked away and I shut off a tape recorder as Max wept for several minutes. Collecting himself, Max recounted that the owner, before her death, came out to Churchill Downs to see a sculpture of a horse Max created for her before she died. She loved it and paid for two castings, one for her and the other for Max to keep. The cost was easily in the thousand of dollars.

The casting initiated a return, of sorts, to his gift. Churchill Downs commissioned Max to create a bust of Julian “Buck” Wheat that is in the trainer's lounge. But before that, a documentary on Isaac Murphy gave him an idea for the sculpture of the jockey and Buchanan.

I remember well walking the few steps from the KTA office to the tack room where Max was living to see the sculpture. It sat on a wooden table, approximately three feet long and perhaps 18 inches high. Its size dominated the small room but was in strong contrast to clothing hung on hooks around a closet-less room meant for tack–bridles, saddles, the accouterments for an animal.

A closer look at Max's sculpture

I was speechless at the grace, accuracy, and artistry of his sculpture.

The work galvanized Max in a way far different from how he was in the interview next door. He began to talk about the art of sculpting in a kind of soliloquy.

“What sculpting is about is fear of mistakes popping up after it is cast. As long as I can see something that needs correcting, I won't let it go.” He talked about staying away from the work and not even looking at it, which is hard to imagine in the cramped room. “You keep working at it and leaving it till you can't do anything more.”

He used the words “mortally afraid” as he talked about “construction failures” that can cause a sculpture to fall to one side before it is cast.

“I have to make sure it stands right and has balance, then the right proportions–the proper length in the legs, the right-sized head.” With passion and an absence of self-consciousness, he said he was “bound to the suspensory ligaments and the musculature.”

I wrote a 550-word story for the old “People” column in what was the Derby results issue of The Blood-Horse. It is the largest-selling edition annually for the magazine and it was the best chance for exposure and a casting of Max's statue.

For a few of the 12 years that followed, I checked with David on Max's piece. We both gave up on the piece ever being cast after a time, and it still sits in the storage room where David lives.

David texted me last week that Max had died, one of the victims of the coronavirus.

Looking at photos of Max and the sculpture, there is a parallel between the work and this man's life. The sculpture may never be cast; Max's life was never cast into a role befitting his gift.

Neither is finished, perhaps.

The piece remains, as it is now, in clay rather than bronze, a tribute waiting to be made to a black jockey of great historical importance. Recognition of the role of African Africans in racing (and their elimination, largely, at the turn of the 20th century through discrimination) has immense value, particularly in current times of racial strife. Cast and placed in the Derby or Saratoga museums, it could both preserve history and carry a vision of a future for African-Americans in racing.

For Max, it addresses and might answer a question one fellow racetracker had that all of us who knew him asked: “What's a man that talented doing on the backside?”

The answer, perhaps to come with a permanent casting of Murphy and Buchanan, is Max may find himself where we all believed he should have been all along — in a museum, finishing his life, even after death, “the art way.”

Ken Snyder is a Kentucky-based freelance turf writer whose work has appeared in a number of horse racing magazines. He currently is a regular contributor to British-based Gallop Magazine.

The post The Sculptor In The Tack Room: Horses Kept Calling Maksimovic Back To The Racetrack appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The First Steps Towards Inclusiveness in Racing

On a sparsely traveled road in downtown Lexington, African Cemetery No. 2 sits encircled by a worn iron fence. The sounds of cars flashing by nearby busier streets, the incessant barking of a neighboring dog and the harsh droning of a drill from the adjacent auto parts shop carry through the isolated eight-acre plot.

Opened in 1869, the site now contains over 5,000 graves, of which fewer than 600 are recognized with markers. The plot inters hundreds of enslaved African Americans, as well as members of the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. It is the burial grounds for attorneys, political activists, doctors, lawyers and, some of the best jockeys the Thoroughbred racing world has ever known.
Leon Nichols, the co-founder and CEO of the Project to Preserve African American Turf History, has traversed the grounds many times.

“These were people who made lasting impacts on society and rallied their knowledge together to carve out a space in their respective fields,” he said. “These people gave us a legacy that they created in the most trying of times in America, but they still prevailed and left us with a tremendous amount of stories that we can forever hold onto and help shape future generations.”
A native of Lexington, Nichols grew up hearing the tales of many of the equestrians laid to rest at the site. Much of his family, from uncles to brother, were involved in the industry as trainers, grooms and hot walkers.

It’s just something that was always a part of our family heritage,” he recounted. “As a kid, I grew up following in those footsteps and hanging around the racetrack and working on the farms. I guess what really struck me is that being in those environments, everyone talked about the contributions of African American jockeys and trainers back then, but as a young kid, I never saw any representation.”

As time went on, Nichols was continually struck by the minimal recognition given to those African American jockeys who defined the early years of horse racing. He said there was always a thought in the back of his mind that perhaps there was something he could do to help bring their stories to light.

In 2007, while working at the Kroger Distribution Center in Louisville, Nichols was approached by co-workers Calvin Davis and Jerry Fife. The men had heard about his racing background and wanted to learn more.

Soon after, the trio formed the Project to Preserve African American Turf History (PPAATH).

From left: James Natsis, Calvin Davis, Leon Nichols, Jerry Fife

“We just felt like there needed to be representation in terms of the African American contributions to horse racing,” Nichols said. “The overall mission is that we wanted to find ways that we could integrate the history into the equine industry and really have some outreach to set up the next generation in terms of learning about this forgotten past.”
Through this outreach in educating the general public, the program hopes to widen horse racing’s audience.

“We wanted to reconnect the fanbase and show the collective contribution of people of color to the sport, as well as make the sport more relevant than what it is currently,” Nichols said. “I think the way you do that is through the narration of these stories and this history, and then you get a greater appreciation of the sport, the Derby, and horse racing in general.”

Much of the history that the group aims to highlight is centered around the over 150 equine industry participants buried at African Cemetery No. 2.

Towards the back of the cemetery, beneath an ancient oak tree, a three-foot tall headstone commemorates the Lewis family.

Oliver Lewis was born into slavery in Lexington in 1856. While still a teenager, he became the first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby aboard Aristides in 1875. He was one of 13 African American jockeys in the 15-horse field, and would go on to run second with Aristides in the Belmont S. He never raced in another Kentucky Derby, and little is known about his life beyond that bright moment in the spotlight. Lewis died in 1924 and while records indicate that he was buried in a family grave at African Cemetery No. 2, his name is not listed on the family monument.

Just a few years after Lewis rode to victory in Louisville, James “Soup” Perkins was born in 1880 in Lexington. He began riding at the age of 11, and then at the age of 15 became the youngest jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby, a distinction that he still shares with fellow African American jockey Alonzo Clayton, who was victorious in the prestigious event just three years prior. Perkins is buried in a family plot along with his brother Frank, who was a successful trainer until he was killed in 1900.

Perhaps the most famous person buried at the historic site is Isaac Murphy. Born into slavery in 1861, Murphy moved to Lexington with his mother following the Civil War. He would go on to ride in 11 Kentucky Derbies, and come out on top in 1884, 1890 and 1891.

“Isaac was able to communicate with the horse through his hands and his warm personality,” Nichols said. “He rarely used the whip, and was revered for his strict honesty.”

From 1892 through 1895, Murphy achieved an incomprehensible winning percentage of 44%.

“One of his biggest claims-to-fame was the overall impact that he had on the industry,” said Nichols. “You have to understand the times. Being in the 19th century, being an African American, he was able to really bring people together. White and Black alike flooded to see this man in all his glory, and what he brought to the sport of horse racing.”

Nichols said that Murphy was well known for his vibrant personality, and was always a favorite with the media because of his articulateness and honesty. He was also the individual that set the standard for fashion at the race track.

“He was the Michael Jordan or the Tiger Woods of horse racing,” Nichols said. “His legacy in the culture of racing is undeniably embedded in the sport, from fashion to etiquette. He was that transcendent figure in sport that really helped create opportunity for everybody.”

Murphy was not only the first jockey to win three Kentucky Derbies, but also the first to do it back-to-back and eventually the first jockey to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

For most of his career, Murphy was revered as a celebrity, with appearances in newspapers and magazines, and his likeness displayed on tobacco cards. But before the turn of the century, rampant racism took its toll and he was resented for taking money and fame from white jockeys.

The eventual Hall of Famer was forced to retire prematurely due to health issues, and he died of pneumonia at the age of 35 in 1896. He was placed in an unmarked grave at African Cemetery No. 2. and for many years, his burial site was nearly forgotten. It wasn’t until 1967 when a researcher discovered the grave and his remains were exhumed and reinterred at the old Man o’War burial site, and then moved again to the Kentucky Horse Park in 1978.

From 1921 to 2000, not a single African American was represented in the Kentucky Derby | Audrey Menefee

The gradual disappearance of African Americans in racing continued into the early 20th century, with many of the sport’s best African American jockeys leaving the country to ride overseas. Jim Crow laws all but banned African Americans from race tracks. From 1921 to 2000, there was not a single African American jockey represented in the Kentucky Derby.

Despite this extreme absence of African Americans in the sport for nearly a century, Nichols said that the ripple effect of their talent and strong presence in those early days is still felt today.

“When we really get down to the nuts and bolts of it, these stories give us a lesson in terms of diversity and inclusion that I think is very relevant to today because it proves that we worked together then to help Kentucky’s signature industry become what it is today,” Nichols said. “It provides us with a blueprint to really amplify that message nationwide, especially in times like this.”

When PPAATH began their program fewer than 20 years ago, they knew that they would need a way to represent the important stories they were trying to share.

They enlisted the help of Georgia-based fine arts painter Audrey Menefee.

The artist had no background in horse racing, but was interested in sharing the unknown tales of African Americans in the industry. She found that there was not much to go off of in terms of information or images of the jockeys they wished to highlight, but still she was able to create a collection of over a dozen jockey portraits.

In 2010, the “Forgotten Black Jockeys” exhibit was featured at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

The collection has traveled to several venues nationwide.

Two years ago, Dr. James Natsis, a Kentucky-based writer and assistant professor at West Virginia State University found out about the project. He eventually became a vice present of PPAATH, and led an effort to bring the collection to West Virginia State University.

Another major undertaking for the program has been the Isaac Murphy Image Awards.

“We wanted to do something that was really going to bring Isaac’s legacy to the national stage,” said Nichols. “We created the Isaac Murphy Image Awards to honor prominent African Americans in business, education, entertainment and sports who left an indelible mark in their respective fields. We wanted to do that by bringing them to the Kentucky Derby, [so they could] learn a little bit of the history.”

Award recipients include actors Angela Bassett and Danny Glover, Super Bowl MVP and coach Doug Williams, and Olympic medalist Peter Westbook.

PPAATH is now working to grow the span of their awards show, and is collaborating with production companies in hopes to make it into a national awards celebration that runs in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby.

2013 Isaac Murphy Image Award Recipient Angela Bassett | PPAATH

“We still think that this sport is one of the greatest sports in the world, and we want to add a diversity spin to it to help rein in new fan bases,” Nichols said. “It’s a foundational sport for everything we do today in North America, whether it’s the NBA or the NFL, horse racing in its earliest days set the foundation for a sporting culture that far exceeded anyone’s expectations. I think if we can get the sport back to its days of glory and prominence, but more importantly, its impact on diversity and inclusion, everyone wins in that situation.”

Beyond an induction to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, African Cemetery No. 2 has seen little recognition in this century, even after the graves of those prominent jockeys were re-discovered. PPAATH has been working to change that. In recent years, they’ve partnered with the University of Kentucky to create on-site posters commemorating some of the historical figures laid to rest at the cemetery.

The headstones are still cracked and crumbling, the landscaping is still in need of much attention, but still, it’s a step. Through these series of small strides taken in collaboration, Nichols and his team are working to prevent history from rewriting itself, and initiate the growth of a more diverse horse racing audience.

“It has to be a collaborative approach,” Nichols said. “We have to learn that we can work with one another. This history, in terms of the legacies that we were left with, gives us that blueprint- that when we do work together, amazing things happen. We see an opportunity for this industry to take those very first steps of inclusiveness. It has to be an amicable approach. We have to learn to trust the fact that we can work together, and we can use this history as a frame of reference to help us do that.”

The post The First Steps Towards Inclusiveness in Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights