By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com
In honor of Black History Month, the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center will be home to the traveling exhibit “Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers.” The exhibit showcases the legacy and contributions that Black horsemen and horsewomen made to horseracing from the 1800s until modern day.
(Right) Alvin Stone and his wife pose for a book signing at the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center.
The exhibit will be available at the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center for the duration of the month. The exhibit’s homebase derives from the Keeneland Association located in Keeneland, Kentucky.
“The long-term goal is to increase the capacity of people across this country to tell untold or poorly told stories,” said exhibit curator Roda Ferraro. “The goal is to build up that repository of information so the facts are there and people have places to call and get accurate information about the history of horseracing in this country.”
During her presentation on Feb. 1, Ferraro highlighted many historic Black horsemen and horsewomen whose legacies are cemented in horse racing culture. Included were Willie Simms, Sylvia Bishop and Cheryl White. Simms is a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame and was the first Black jockey to win the “Triple Crown,” which consists of the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Baltimore’s own Preakness Stakes. Bishop was the first Black woman licensed to train racehorses, and White was the first Black woman licensed to ride racehorses.
The Maryland Horse Library and Education Center also featured a book signing by Alvin Stone for his book “Stoney: The Story of my Dad’s Life, an African-American Groom of Horse Racing.”
“I had great experiences not only on the racetrack, but my father had a lot to do with a lot of stables owners making money and the overall thoroughbred history of horseracing,” said Stone.
The Baltimore resident is the youngest of nine children and one of only two remaining children of Walker Stone, the legendary horse groomer.
On Feb. 24, the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center will be hosting a presentation on the Bill Pickett Rodeo. The Bill Pickett Rodeo was created to celebrate Black cowgirls and cowboys. Willie M. Pickett was a Black cowboy and actor who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1989. The presentation will be done by Greg Freeman.
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