Black Maestro

Black Maestro by Joe Drape
The Epic Life of an American Legend

Category: Biography Grade: B+

Its pretty rare that I'll experiment with a biography of somebody I've never heard up, but this book was a birthday present so I decided to give it a try. Well worthwhile. The subject of this book is Jimmy Winkfield, a black jockey who was born in the early 1880s. His story turns out to be pretty amazing, helped along by the Drape's lyrical writing style.

Born in Kentucky, Winkfield spent his childhood hanging around the horse farms of the Bluegrass. As a boy, he learned by watching and loved everything about horses - grooming, training, exercising but most of all racing. He became one of the most accomplished American jockeys of the late 19th century, winning the Kentucky Derby two years in a row. However, these were also the years that Jim Crow laws were becoming entrenched across the United States and, slowly, black jockeys disappeared from the scene - sometimes driven out by rough treatment on the track by other jockeys and sometimes just denied rides by owners. This changing American landscape sent Winkfield off on an amazing world tour that lasted decades.

Settling for years in Russia where being black wasn't a handicap (especially since he was usually the only one around), Winkfield became the leading Russian jockey working for the son of an Armenian oil man who was determined to make Russia a powerhouse. At the peak of his productive years, he got caught up in the Russian Revolution and was part of a group that led hundreds of Russian thoroughbreds on a months long trip across Europe to France. He left his White Russian wife and their son behind with eventual tragic consequences. Eventually, the Nazis drove Winkfield back to the United States where he lived out his life.

This is a well written, entertaining book that anybody who likes sports or history will enjoy.