YVONNE GILES, an African American historian known as the Cemetery Lady, shared the stories of prominent African American horsemen during her program, “The Life of Bill Walker,” at the Woodford County Library on April 9. (Photo by Bob Vlach)
By Bob Vlach
Woodford Sun Staff
A program on “The Life of Bill Walker” at the Woodford County Library on April 9 turned into a history lesson about the Woodford County native who won the Kentucky Derby in 1877 and the contributions of many other African American horsemen.
“They were the foundation of the horse industry,” African American historian Yvonne Giles told attendees. Moreover, she said, “It’s very fun and interesting to find all this out, and to begin to understand who they are as persons – not just the men on the horses.”
Giles acknowledged she has no idea who William Walker’s parents were, but based on what she learned from his 1933 obituary, he had a son, William Jr., and a daughter who died of tuberculosis at age 30.
Later in life, Walker became a trainer and an expert in horse breeding because of his reliable memory, Giles said. “So, he finished out his career as a horse advisor-trainer and lives there in Louisville,” she said.
In 2015, Churchill Downs established the William Walker Stakes in his honor. The stakes races are run in the days before the Kentucky Derby, Giles said. “… Getting ready for this program,” she added, “I was surprised to learn that.”
The contributions of American Americans extended into all aspects of agriculture as the enslaved population in Kentucky grew to provide slave labor for building houses and barns, planting and harvesting crops, as well as raising livestock, including Thoroughbreds.
Census numbers for Woodford County in 1860 showed the enslaved African American population was higher than free white residents, Giles said. Following emancipation, she said census records showed African American men were jockeys, trainers and grooms.
Sharing the names and stories of other horsemen including jockeys John Samples, who was born in Midway, and Oliver Lewis, winner of the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, Giles also discussed lesser-known details about their lives uncovered during her research and while reading the “very fine print” in newspaper stories available on the Chronicling America database.
“You can spend hours and days looking through the paper, but it’s always fun because you find things you didn’t know,” said Giles.