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

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

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,…

At one point Murphy was the highest-paid jockey in the United States and had the best win percentage in thoroughred-racing history. Murphy’s success as a jockey enabled him and his wife, Lucy Carr, to purchase a large 10-room home on the corner of…