Caption from poster__

Is the most successful horse jockey in history
 of the world, holding the highest career
winning percentage of the sport. He was
 also the highest-paid athlete in the
United States during his lifetime. Murphy
 is one of only two African American
 jockeys to receive the honor of being
 inducted into the National Museum of
 Racing's Hall of Fame.

 Wink could have been America's greatest racing
 phenomenon, were it not for history. Two-time
Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jimmy Winkfield's
life was a rollercoaster of fame and obscurity,
enduring racism, world war, death threats,
 and exile. While life was high he attained
 celebrity, wealth, and true love, though his
 two greatest romances were with horses,
 and his exiled home, the United States. Wink's
journey is an odyssey through history, tragedy,
spunk, and old-fashioned American ingenuity.

 1898: Willie Simms became the
 only African American jockey
 to win the Preakness Stakes
 when he rode Sly Fox to
 victory. With this win, Simms
 became the only African
 American jockey to have
 won all three Triple Crown
 races. His other Triple
 Crown wins took place in
the Kentucky Derby (1896,
1898) and Belmont Stakes
(1893, 1894).

 Alonzo "Lonnie" Clayton was an
American jockey in Thoroughbred
horse racing described by  "one of
 the great riders of the New York
circuit all through the 1890s and
who holds the record as the youngest
 jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby.

 African American jockeys dominance in the world of racing
is a history nearly forgotten today. Their participation dates
 back to colonial times, when the British brought their love
of horseracing to the New World. Founding Fathers George
 Washington and Thomas Jefferson frequented the track,
and when President Andrew Jackson moved into the White
House in 1829, he brought along his best Thoroughbreds
 and his black jockeys. Because racing was tremendously
popular in the South, it is not surprising that the first black
jockeys were slaves. They cleaned the stables and handled
 the grooming and training of some of the countrys most
 valuable horseflesh. From such responsibility, slaves
 developed the abilities needed to calm and connect with
 Thoroughbreds, skills demanded of successful jockeys.

For blacks, racing provided a false sense of freedom.
 They were allowed to travel the racing circuit, and some
 even managed their owners racing operation. They com-
peted alongside whites. When black riders were cheered
 to the finish line, the only colors that mattered were the
colors of their silk jackets, representing their stables. Horse
racing was entertaining for white owners and slaves alike
 and one of the few ways for slaves to achieve status.