Quote:
Originally Posted by horseofcourse
I'm not sure you have to be a racist to hate horse racing. Just like every major sport, I'm sure there was a massive amount of racism involved in it through the history of America. the dominant jockeys of the late 19th and very early 20th century were African American and that completely disappeared pretty, pretty quickly. The Jimmy Winkfield biography was an interesting read. Perhaps he does have disdain based on racism, but I think it's fairly legit most likely. Is it racism or merely backlash?? Of course today, there would be zero holding back a successful black trainer, owner, jockey etc and the lack of involvement today is more likely circumstantial more than anything.
I see no evidence however Wilbon is a racist, I don't know the man so I guess anything is possible.
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Those roles of trainer/jockey disappeared quickly because every state in the country except Maryland and Kentucky banned gambling (1908-10) and the industry shrank to nearly nothing. White trainers and riders got the edge under that scenario, which in that era, you can comprehend easily. Wilbon resents the erroneous image he holds of the sport, and that image has racial undertones.
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