In 1826, the Kentucky Association for the Improvement of the Breeds of Stock was established “to improve the breed of horses by encouraging the sports of the turf.” Fifty members of the group met at Mrs. Keen’s Inn to foster the industry that would…

Winkfield raced in the United States from 1899 to 1904. He won 161 races in 1901 alone. When Jim Crow injustice finally reached the racetracks, like many other African American jockeys, it eventually forced him off the tracks. Winkfield was the last…

The Blue Grass Trust plaque property at 234 Eastern Ave (formerly 140 Vertner Ave) has a rich history associated with the horse-racing industry.This parcel once formed the eastern boundary of Gunntown, a settlement composed largely of formerly…

Dudley Allen (1845-1911) lived at 416 Kinkead Street in Kinkeadtown (now roughly Hummons Avenue). Born into slavery in Lexington, Kentucky, Allen eventually served in the Army with Company M of the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry, 1864-1866, as a…

Built around 1903 by J. T. Christian, a produce merchant and manager of the Lexington Cold Storage Company, this unusual house is composed of rough-hewn sandstone blocks. Subsequent owners included K. C. Kirtley, an occasional saloon keeper and…

Ansel Williamson was sold to A. Keene Richards of Kentucky after working as an enslaved trainer in Alabama. He was later sold to the owner of Woodburn farm, Robert A. Alexander. After emancipation he was employed as a trainer to H. Price McGrath,…

In the late nineteenth century, Isaac Murphy was the highest-paid jockey in the United States and had the best win percentage in Thoroughbred-racing history. He was a frequent rider of magnate James Ben Ali Haggin’s horses, including the famed…