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Jim Crow in the Saddle: The Expulsion of African American Jockeys from American Racing

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Leeds
  • Hugh Rockoff

Abstract

Between the Civil War and the turn of the nineteenth century there were many prominent African American jockeys. They rode winners in all of the Triple-Crown races. But at the turn of the century they were forced out. This paper uses a new data set on the Triple-Crown races, which includes odds on all of the entrants in all of the races, to explore the causes of the expulsion of African American jockeys. Our conclusion is that although there is some evidence of prejudice by owners and the betting public – for the latter in the Kentucky Derby although not in the other legs of the Triple Crown – historical evidence indicates that the final push came from the White jockeys who were determined to “draw the color line.”

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Leeds & Hugh Rockoff, 2020. "Jim Crow in the Saddle: The Expulsion of African American Jockeys from American Racing," NBER Working Papers 28167, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28167
    Note: DAE
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    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w28167.pdf
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N11 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

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