Black History Month

In recognition of Black History Month, the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center will host the traveling exhibit, The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers. The exhibit will open Saturday, Feb. 1 with a talk by the exhibit curator, and Library Director, Roda Ferraro from the Keeneland Library. The exhibit will be available to visit at the MHLEC through Feb. 28. Heart of the Turf highlights the lives and careers of 100 African American horsemen and horsewomen from the mid-1800s to the present. One-of-a-kind photographs from the Keeneland Library...

Racial segregation is one of the dark chapters in American history. Until the 1950s and 60s, Blacks had limited access to housing, facilities, schools, transportation and other opportunities. While we have plenty of racial problems today, it's almost hard to believe that there was a systematic separation of people in daily life. To right this terrible wrong, millions of Americans began to protest in the 50s and the situation began to change. The Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional, Rosa Parks declined to sit in the back of...

A former SEC running back and a Hall of Fame basketball player for the University of Kentucky, Allen and Leslie Carter are the sort of couple that doesn't do anything halfway as their myriad of  accomplishments have been earned through hard work, attentiveness and a passion for what they do. So it probably won't be long before this duo is making headlines in the racing industry because recently, they added the title of 'Thoroughbred breeder' to their list of many life works. South Carolina native Allen Carter moved to the...

Last summer, the TDN was first introduced to the Project to Preserve African American Turf History (PPAATH), a Louisville-based group that promotes the education of African American contributions to racing throughout history. In 'The First Steps Towards Inclusiveness in Racing,' we spoke with CEO and Founder Leon Nichols on the inception of their organization and how they hope to change the sport of racing for the better. A few months after our meeting, the group was featured on NBC's coverage of the 146th Running of the Kentucky Derby in a...