"The First Kentucky Derby" is a lovely work of nonfiction that appeals to Kentucky Derby lovers as well as those who aren't familiar with the sport. It is a well-written take on the people, events, and horses of a time unlike ours.

While I liked this book ok, the title is misleading. It is more about the people involved (getting it going, the riders, etc.)
It does jump around in the timeline as well, which I never care for.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love horses and history so anytime I get to read a combination of them is a win, win for me! On top of that they book was really well written and flowed very nicely!!

nonfiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, horse-racing, horses, Kentucky, African Americans, 1875*****

Anything I knew about horse racing and jockeys I learned from Dick Francis.
I don't think that many of us in the upper midwest of the US know a whole lot about horse racing or jockeys (except possibly that women are excluded). This book teaches the history of a particularly well-publicized race that began in 1875. As the book states, that was a VERY long time ago, and it begins with a potted history of people and events that were notable. Then it marches right along to teach about how the color of jockeys drastically changed over a relatively short period of time and then off to the creation of the Kentucky Derby (that was mostly because of one very special horse). I geek history, so I enjoyed it simply for the sake of learning something new.
I requested and received an EARC from Globe Pequot/Eclipse Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

I absolutely loved this book about the first ever Kentucky Derby. Mr. Shrager really knows his history and you can tell that it was really well researched. I was honestly surprised to learn as much as I did about the African American contribution to horse racing at the time and why we don't see as many African Americans in the saddle today. What I wasn't surprised about was the way the white American players were acting and their greed in the sport. Very well done and well worth the read! I used it as a resource for my history podcast and made sure to promote the book.

This is an informative and interesting read of how the Kentucky Derby and to some extent horseracing came to America. This details those who were responsible for bringing it, horse owners, trainers, jockeys and of course the horses themselves. I was surprised to learn the impact that the black community had on horseracing in the early days being a trainer or in a lot of cases a jockey in both positions being very successful. Did you in the first Kentucky Derby ran in 1875 that 13 out of the 15 jockeys were black? But it was also sad to read in the matter of thirty years that black jockeys were nonexistent or the find opportunities in other countries like Russia. There are many experiences of mishaps with some quite humorous like the horse who was blistering the field only to just stop and stand still in the middle of the race. I surprised to learn how often they would race their horses for example they raced one horse a mile and a quarter, two miles and a mile and a half in 6 days apparently, they were not worried about burning them out. It is to bad that some of these folks had to wait so long to get the recognition they deserved being so successful. Even if you are not horseracing fan you should find this interesting.

I've lived in the Debry city my whole life and did not know anything this book touched on. So I was glad to learn more about the Kentucky Debry, my home state as well as my City.

"The First Kentucky Derby" by Mark Shrager presents to the reader a little-known slice of American/African-American history. What most people don't know is that, from the first Kentucky Derby in 1875 until the early 1900s, thoroughbred horse racing was dominated by African-American jockeys and trainers. Furthermore, of the first 28 Kentucky Derby races, 15 of them were won by African-American jockeys; of the first 14 American Derbies, half were won by African-American jockeys. Fascinating!!!

Yet, today, seeing an African-American jockeys is viewed as something rare and of historic proportions. It makes one wonder why that is. Author Mark Shrager does an excellent job of explaining why, while also providing a witty history of the creation of the Kentucky Derby race.

Shrager begins by giving the reader a brief history of the year 1875, showing what the state of American society was like a mere ten years after the end of the Civil War. He then goes on to give the history behind the Derby itself: how the name came about; anecdotes about the horses involved in that first race; and brief profiles of 3 jockeys, some trainers, & owners as well.

While all of that is interesting, what stood out for me is the sixth chapter of the book. It's what makes this book more than just entertainment. In this chapter, Shrager explains in depth why it has been 120 years (and counting) since an African-American jockey has won the Kentucky Derby. He listed ten specific reasons why African-American jockeys pretty much disappeared from the sport, and they include the following: the 1876 withdrawal of Union troops from the southern states in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes getting the presidency; the emergence/implementation of Jim Crow laws; the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling of 'separate but equal'; the jealousy & resentment of white jockeys; and the flat-out racism that plagued society then -- and now!

Shrager accomplishes 2 things with this book: he entertains and he educates. That is what makes this a must-read!

Thanks to NetGalley & Globe Pequot for this ARC, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

This book is fun. I had fun. I am positive Mark Shrager had fun. The First Kentucky Derby reads like a love letter to horse racing and the excitement is infectious. Shrager tells the story of the owners, jockeys, horses, and newspapers around the time of the first Kentucky Derby and the narrative is littered with interesting tidbits.

The one knock against the book would be the organization of the book. The chapters jump around in seemingly no particular order in the beginning before settling into a more linear timeline by the second half of the book. If you need your stories to have a very clear beginning, middle, and end (in that order) then you may find yourself frustrated.

If you just want to learn about horse racing and don't mind a little jumping around then this book is definitely for you.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Globe Pequot.)

What a wonderful book by racing historian extraordinaire, Mark Shrager. Mark takes us back to that first Kentucky Derby in 1875, and fills us in on the horses, trainers, owners and all the black jockeys who rode in that first Derby (13 of the 15 jockeys were black). He also documents the decline of the black jockey and the reasons behind that phenomena, before he then delves into the career of Aristides, who won the first Derby. Lots of fantastic history and stories make this a must read, and a necessity for all horse racing fans - a book you definitely should have in your personal library!

It's always a delight when a book turns out to be even better than expected. I was certainly expecting lots of information and pictures, which I got. What I wasn't really expecting was the delightful, sometimes outrageous history of the event and those connected. 1875 was definitely a world modern day Derby attendees wouldn't recognize. Not only was it peopled with black jockeys but the men behind the horses weren't always, how shall I put it, above-board honest? As the cover notes, Aristides apparently wasn't expected to win. There are reasons detailed and few have anything to do with Aristides. I won't ruin your journey to discovery by saying more but, wow, what a ride, pun intended, author Mark Shrager gives us as he shares his findings.

Besides the fun of being introduced to the frequently shady, over-the-top personalities of racing in the 1875 world, Shrager reminds us how untamed much of the nation was at that time. Jesse James and Billy the Kid were still alive and going about their business of, well, robbery. Wyatt Earp was still around, too, as was George Armstrong Custer. Tchaikovsky was creating new musical arrangements and Joe Borden pitched the first recorded no-hitter for the Philadelphia White Stockings. Basketball, as we know it, hadn't even been invented yet. In other words, an interesting combo of the wild-and-wooly days and the beginnings of more modern life was evolving.

As for the story of the race, it's a fascinating. Shrager had me with his introduction. His writing is both conversational and pulls you into the story. And, what a story it is. From the origins of the term "Derby" used to name the Kentucky Derby, not to mention it's British connections, to Aristides owner's reportedly interesting liking for burgoo (nope, not telling you what it is) to his fondness for betting on the horses, even against his own entries if it might mean a bigger payday, you definitely come away marveling at how far the rules and regulations of thoroughbred racing has come.

I'd honestly given no thought to the absence of Afro-American jockeys in modern racing. In the early days, many were former slaves who had worked with their own owners' horses. Newly freed, their presence at the tracks and stables seems a natural. Yet, as of the publication date of this book, the last black jockey to win the Derby was Jimmy Winkfield, in both 1901 and 1902. Interestingly enough, he left the United States to work in Russia. Despite their success in the saddle, alas, few made the transition to ownership or even training.(with a few notable exceptions). Even those who did were largely overlooked in favor of the often colorful personalities of the horses' owners. You'll get to know them all a bit in this book.

Thanks #NetGalley and #RowmanAndLittlefield - #GlobePequot - #EclipsePress for allowing me this sneak peak behind the scenes of a race that, alas, I've never attended. I'll never quite view it the same on television, however.