REISTERSTOWN, Md. — A section of the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center is the temporary home for a special Black history exhibit about jockeys, trainers, and grooms who shaped horse racing in Maryland and across the country.
“This display has been going around the country, so we were able to get it for Black History Month this year, and it talks about the Black jockeys and Black trainers, you know, starting from the early 1800s, I guess, because like many sports, there is a deep history of Black expertise," says Cricket Goodall, Executive Director of the Maryland Horse Library.
Many of the men started as grooms and jockeys working closely with the horses, but some went even further.
“And they became investors and had their own horses and really rose to be very prominent in the horse racing industry, and that is something that I don’t think a lot of people realize, and you don’t hear about it anymore," says Goodall.
“My father was a groom from Lexington, Kentucky; he started working in Maryland in the 1920s right up to the 1970s," says Alvin Stone.
Alvin Stone wrote a book called 'Stoney' dedicated to his dad's legacy as one of the most sought-after grooms in the state of Maryland.
“All of us were raised by my father being involved in horse racing whether it was at the Maryland racing at all the tracks, a lot of them don’t even exist anymore as well as working on the Maryland farms," says Stone.
He says he admired how hard his father worked to be the best at his craft, and he says he needed to keep his legacy alive.
“One of the memories that sticks out in my mind more than anything else is when I would see one of the horses that my father groomed won a big race, and he was in the winner’s circle with him," says Alvin Stone.
Cricket Goodall says when she worked at the racetrack, she saw just how much time and effort it takes to make sure the horses are ready for competition.
The display will be up until the end of the month of February.
