Last year marked 50 years since Secretariat powered through the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, in performances reminiscent of another Big Red,
“Until you go to the Kentucky Derby with your own eyes, behold the Derby, you ain’t never been nowhere and you ain’t never seen nothing.”—Irving S. Cobb
It was a Monday, the start of a new week, but this would go down as anything but a typical Monday. The day began with clear skies, the sun soon joining the multitudes flocking to Louisville’s newest racetrack, their journey presaging a day a century and a half hence. May 17, 1875, was something altogether bigger than a Monday: it was Derby day.
Even as a teenager, when some youngsters are inclined to think the world is theirs for the taking, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott did not dream big.
“I was 18 years old and hauling horses around in a two-horse trailer to the bush tracks,” recalled the native of Mobridge, S.D. “I never imagined training for anybody else other than myself.”
The grounds of historic Churchill Downs features statues of figures essential to the track and its signature race, the Kentucky Derby: Aristides, the first victor; Barbaro, the fan favorite; and two men seated on benches, one talking and the other listening, beckoning visitors to eavesdrop on their conversation.
He was on the doorstep of becoming America’s greatest Black race rider. One of just five men to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbys (1901-1902), he barely missed a third victory the following year.
But, the story of James “Wink” Winkfield being a great jockey would just be a slice of his existence. Has any jockey led a more incredible life?
