The Keeneland Library presented The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers from February 23 to December 8, 2023, freely hosting more than 20,000 youth and adults from 48 states and 18 countries in the Library and community.

The groundbreaking exhibit that follows the lives and contributions of Black horsemen and women from enslavement to today engaged visitors with exhibited interpretive panels and never-before-displayed photographs, artwork, artifacts, and video interviews. More than 100 photographs from Keeneland Library collections captured moments across their varied careers, while commissioned artwork by LaVon Williams and loaned artwork from the Kentucky Derby Museum, the International Museum of the Horse, and private collections honored their lasting legacies.

Lexington’s East End, home to the Kentucky Association track from the late 1820s through 1933, also was home to many Black horsemen and their families. By the late 1800s, four future Racing Hall of Famers lived in Lexington’s East End: jockeys Isaac Burns Murphy and Jimmy Winkfield, trainer Ansel Williamson, and trainer/owner Edward Dudley Brown. Hundreds of others bought their homes, built their businesses, and raised their families in surrounding neighborhoods.    

That many of the city’s leading horsemen were African American and living near the Kentucky Association track shaped the East End’s heritage as a historic industry hub for pioneering Black horsemen. The economy of the Bluegrass and viability of the Thoroughbred industry as a whole are rooted in their skill, hard work, knowledge, and tenacity. 

From race track superstars to behind-the-scenes caretakers, The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers showcases select stories of the countless African Americans who forged their way in Kentucky and beyond from the era of slavery to the present, making the racing industry what it is today.  

In September 2023, the Library launched The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers traveling exhibit as an extension of our education and outreach initiatives in the community. To host The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers traveling exhibit in your schools, community centers, or gallery space, contact Roda Ferraro at [email protected]. 

Community Youth and Adult Educational Programs

Want to learn more about the contributions of African Americans in the horse industry or dig deeper into the East End’s heritage as a historic hub for racing’s Black pioneers? To book an in-classroom educational program for students or an onsite educational program for community and corporate groups, contact the Keeneland Library at 859-288-4223.