In a neglected cemetery lie black jockeys who helped create the Kentucky Derby
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The headstones - cracked, chipped, crumbled - rise sporadically across eight acres of dried grass. Mold and wind have eaten away at the slabs of stone, but if you kneel close enough, maybe wipe a palm across the faded inscriptions, family names emerge.
Tucked off a quiet two-lane road lined by towering oak trees in Lexington, you'll find African Cemetery No. 2, the burial site of many of Kentucky's first - yet often least remembered - jockeys and horse trainers.
Every May, racing fans from around the world flock to Churchill Downs in Louisville, eager to watch thoroughbreds - many of them reared in the rolling hills nearby - tear around the track. The horse racing industry brings billions of dollars and infinite pride to the Bluegrass State each
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