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On May 6, a group of Black women made history at the annual Kentucky Oaks Day horse racing event in Louisville when their precious horse “Seven Scents” scored first place during the competition.
The annual event, which takes place at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville is one of the second-highest attended horse races in the United States, attracting over 100,000 guests yearly. The lucrative race squares off 3-year-old fillies or young female horses as they race for first place across the finish line.
“We’re not only owners, we’re winners. We’re showing up at the tracks, we’re representing and we’re taking home prizes,” horse owner Dr. Tiffany Daniels told WKYT of the historic win.
The lucky women, who are the first African American female syndicate of horse owners from Living The Dream, a black-owned horse stable, hope that Saturday’s victory will spark more minority ownership throughout the centuries-old sport.
“The first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby was an African American male. We’re in 2022 right now and we don’t see a lot of us,” another horse owner named Coya Robison told the news outlet. Robinson was referencing the legacy of Oliver Lewis, the African American jockey who won the first Kentucky Derby on May 17, 1875. Lewis set an American record too, whizzing through the half-a-mile race in nearly two minutes, according to KY.gov.
As we honor the ladies on this Oaks Day, hear from one of these owners who is making history. She says women can and should leave their mark on the horse racing industry and sport @WKYT WKYT pic.twitter.com/dGjTVXkhsk
— Shelby Lofton (@ShelbyWKYT) May 6, 2022
Additionally, Daniels said she hopes the win shines a light on the forgotten Black history surrounding the 148-year-old event.
“Us specifically, we’re following in the footsteps of Eliza Carpenter, who was a slave who became a horse owner and an actual jockey.”
Eliza Carpenter, also known as “Aunt Eliza,” gained her freedom at the end of the Civil War and traveled to Madisonville, Kentucky where she learned how to purchase, train and ride horses. Eventually, Carpenter learned so much about the thoroughbred industry that she opened up her own stable in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where she competed in a few races and even won, according to the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database.
Robinson was inspired to join the group of bustling Black women horse owners as a part of her mission to place emphasis on representation in the industry.
“It was a chance for me to live a legacy for my four daughters, for my goddaughters, so I thought it was a good opportunity as a woman,” she added.
Earlier this month, Kentucky’s Ed Brown Society, which mentors minority college students about the ins and outs of the horse industry, announced a huge partnership with Churchill Downs aimed at achieving more diversity in the thoroughbred space. The famous horse racing complex made a $50,000 donation to the organization to join in on their efforts of achieving inclusivity within the industry.
“We got to make sure everybody is included,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement. “Every part of Kentucky, but also every neighborhood of our cities.”
The program is named in honor of another famous African American horseman named Ed Brown, who was born as a slave but rose to become a Belmont Stakes-winning jockey and a Kentucky Derby-winning horse trainer during the last decade of the 19th century.
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