On its face, the end of the Civil War should have marked a time in which African Americans would be afforded freedom. But the end of slavery did not mean the end of Black oppression. Many white Americans built their fortunes on, and were heavily entrenched in, slavery's infrastructure. These individuals, as well as others, bore great resentment for freed slaves, viewing them as a direct threat to their livelihoods. Rather than reveling in newfound freedom, many Black Americans faced hostility and bitterness, including those in the thoroughbred racing industry. Black jockeys and trainers who once found success in their fields now found a target on their backs.

As Geraldine Brooks notes in the Afterword of Horse, the "thriving" horse racing industry so popular before the Civil War "was built on the labor and skills of the Black horsemen," many of whom were enslaved. There is ample historical evidence to indicate that Black jockeys were both prevalent and successful prior to the Civil ...