Born into an African American sharecropping family in 1880s Kentucky, Jimmy Winkfield grew up loving horses. The large, powerful animals inspired little Jimmy to think big. Looking beyond his family's farm, he longed for a life riding on action-packed racetracks around the world. Like his hero, the great Isaac Murphy, Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield would stop at nothing to make it as a jockey. Though his path to success was wrought with obstacles both on the track and off, Wink faced each challenge with passion and a steadfast spirit. Along the way he carved out a lasting legacy as one of history's finest horsemen and the last African American ever to win the Kentucky Derby. The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby brings to life a vivacious hero from a little-known chapter of American sports history. Readers are transported trackside to witness the heart-pounding story of a vibrant young man chasing down his dream.

A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction • A Recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction • A Finalist for the Rathbones Folio Prize • Longlisted for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence • One of New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Book Named a Best Book of the Year by Entertainment Weekly • GQ • The New York Times (Selected by Dwight Garner) • NPR • The Wall Street Journal • San Francisco Chronicle • Refinery29 • Booklist • Kirkus Reviews • Commonweal Magazine "In its poetic splendor and moral seriousness, The Sport of Kings bears the traces of Faulkner, Morrison, and McCarthy. . . . It is a contemporary masterpiece."—San Francisco Chronicle Hailed by The New Yorker for its “remarkable achievements,” The Sport of Kings is an American tale centered on a horse and two families: one white, a Southern dynasty whose forefathers were among the founders of Kentucky; the other African-American, the descendants of their slaves. It is a dauntless narrative that stretches from the fields of the Virginia piedmont to the abundant pastures of the Bluegrass, and across the dark waters of the Ohio River; from the final shots of the Revolutionary War to the resounding clang of the starting bell at Churchill Downs. As C. E. Morgan unspools a fabric of shared histories, past and present converge in a Thoroughbred named Hellsmouth, heir to Secretariat and a contender for the Triple Crown. Newly confronted with one another in the quest for victory, the two families must face the consequences of their ambitions, as each is driven---and haunted---by the same, enduring question: How far away from your father can you run? A sweeping narrative of wealth and poverty, racism and rage, The Sport of Kings is an unflinching portrait of lives cast in the shadow of slavery and a moral epic for our time.

Little Freddie is just a foal with big dreams. Not every racehorse gets to run in the Kentucky Derby. Even then, there is only one winner.Join this Thoroughbred horse on an adventure from his first days in the pasture to the excitement of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Share his triumphs and failures as Little Freddie learns what it takes to make your dreams come true!

The story of Black Gold, a winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Provides a complete history of the Kentucky Derby, examining the tradition, spectacle, culture and evolution of an event that has marveled America--and the world--for more than 130 years.

"To understand the Kentucky Derby is to understand the contemporary American spirit." One hundred and fifty years have passed since the Thoroughbreds of the inaugural Kentucky Derby sprang from the starting gate to race beneath the iconic Twin Spires of Churchill Downs. But the story of the greatest two minutes in sports is more than the pageantry of the horses and thrill of the people who love and celebrate the event. Through the decades, the Derby, like the state that founded it, has experienced profound moments of social, economic, and cultural change. As one of Kentucky's flagship cultural and economic institutions, the Thoroughbred racing industry must constantly reconcile with its past and think critically about the stories that have traditionally made it into the winner's circle. In the right hands, artifacts of material culture related to the Derby have the power to inspire nuanced stories of the past and shed light on marginalized voices in the industry's history. In The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects, Jessica K. Whitehead sets out to recover the accurate history of America's longest continuously held sporting event and establish a balance between well-known narratives and those that are less widely shared. Whitehead, curator of collections at the Kentucky Derby Museum, gives readers a personal tour of 75 objects from the museum. Her selections place Black, Latin American, and female riders, owners, and trainers closer to the center of the Derby story, spotlighting the contributions and achievements of groups that have played an increasingly important role in shaping the legacy of the Run for the Roses.

The spirited story of Marcenia Lyle, the African American girl who grew up to become "Toni Stone," the first woman to play for an all-male professional baseball team.