[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8728-8729]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JIMMY ``WINK'' 
       WINKFIELD AND OTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the 
resolution (H. Res. 231) recognizing and celebrating the life and 
accomplishments of the great African American jockey Jimmy ``Wink'' 
Winkfield and the significant contributions and excellence of other 
African American jockeys and trainers in the sport of horse racing and 
the history of the Kentucky Derby, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution as follows:

                              H. Res. 231

       Whereas Jimmy ``Wink'' Winkfield was born on April 12th, 
     1882 in Chilesburg, Kentucky, the youngest of 17 in a family 
     of sharecroppers;
       Whereas Wink was born in an era when African American 
     jockeys dominated the sport of horse racing, to the extent 
     that African American riders won 15 of the first 28 Kentucky 
     Derbies and in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, 13 of the 15 
     jockeys were African American;
       Whereas the African American jockey Oliver Lewis won the 
     first Derby by two lengths, and the African American jockey 
     Alonzo ``Lonnie'' Clayton, at age 15, is the youngest rider 
     ever to win the Derby;
       Whereas Wink worked by shining shoes, moved up as a stable 
     hand, then as an exercise rider, and rode his first race at 
     the age of 16;
       Whereas at the age of 22, Wink won back-to-back Kentucky 
     Derbies in 1901 (on His Eminence) and 1902 (on Alan-A-Dale), 
     and placed second in 1903 (on Early);
       Whereas Wink is one of only 4 jockeys ever to accomplish 
     this back-to-back feat, and he was the last African American 
     jockey to win the Kentucky Derby;
       Whereas during his career Wink was known as king of the 
     Chicago race tracks;
       Whereas unfortunately, segregation eventually forced 
     African American jockeys off the race track and often into 
     exile;
       Whereas Wink left the United States by buying a steamer 
     ticket to Europe and settled down in Czarist Russia, where he 
     became a wealthy and dominant athlete in Russia's national 
     sport;
       Whereas Wink went on to win the Russian national riding 
     title an unheard of 3 times, won the Moscow Derby twice, the 
     Russian Derby three times, the Grand Prix de Baden (in 
     Germany), the Poland Derby twice, and the Grand Prix de la 
     Republique (in France);
       Whereas the Bolshevik Communist Revolution in 1917 forced 
     Wink to flee Russia, and he led 200 jockeys, trainers, and 
     owners over treacherous mountain terrain into Poland;
       Whereas Wink eventually settled down in France and retired 
     in 1930 after accumulating 2,600 racing victories in 10 
     countries, and turned to raising and training horses on his 
     farm outside of Paris;
       Whereas in 1940, when the Nazis invaded France and 
     commandeered his stables for their own horses, Wink defended 
     himself and his farm with a pitchfork, only to eventually 
     flee Nazi-occupied territory;
       Whereas after decades of exile, Wink returned to the United 
     States one last time in 1961, 60 years after winning his 
     first Kentucky Derby, when he was invited to a pre-Kentucky 
     Derby banquet at the historic Brown Hotel in Louisville as a 
     2-time winner of the Derby;
       Whereas Wink and his daughter Lillian were denied entrance 
     through the front door, but after a long delay were 
     eventually admitted, and spent most of the evening with a 
     white jockey named Roscoe Goose, an ex-competitor from their 
     own Kentucky Derby days 60 years earlier, who sat with Wink 
     for the evening and for the Derby the following afternoon;
       Whereas Wink returned to his home in Paris, where he died 
     in 1974 at the age of 94 still homesick for the Kentucky 
     bluegrass of his boyhood, his death virtually unnoticed in 
     the United States; and
       Whereas in 2003, Wink was admitted to the National Racing 
     Hall of Fame and joined two other African American Hall of 
     Fame jockeys, 3-time Kentucky Derby winner Isaac Murphy and 
     2-time winner Willie Simms: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) celebrates the remarkable life and accomplishments of 
     one of the truly great American athletes, Jimmy ``Wink'' 
     Wink-
     field, who continuously overcame racism and other significant 
     obstacles during his lifetime; and
       (2) recognizes and celebrates the significant contributions 
     and excellence of African American jockeys and trainers in 
     the sport of horse racing and in the history of the Kentucky 
     Derby.

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 231 
that honors the Kentucky Derby and particularly the success that 
African-American jockeys have enjoyed during the race's history. I am 
pleased that the House is considering this resolution before the 131st 
Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
  The resolution reminds us that African-American jockeys have greatly 
influenced the history of the Kentucky Derby. Thirteen of the fifteen 
riders in the first derby in 1875 were African-American. African-
American horsemen won 15 of the first 28 derbies.
  Jimmy ``Wink'' Winkfield, whom the resolution recognizes 
specifically, remains the last African-American jockey to win the 
Kentucky Derby. He is one of only four jockeys in Kentucky Derby 
history to win back-to-back races. He was victorious riding His 
Eminence in 1901 and Alan-A-Dale in 1902. He also came in second the 
following year when he entered the race as the favorite on Early in 
1903.
  Mr. Speaker, on a Saturday in May each year, the Kentucky Derby 
provides us with many outstanding moments, many of which go down in 
sports history. Champion horses such as Secretariat, Seattle Slew, 
Alysheba, and last year, Smarty Jones, have captivated the Nation 
during the race that is known as the ``greatest two minutes in 
sports.'' We know this year's derby will be a spectacular show as well.
  Again Mr. Speaker, I am pleased the House is considering this timely 
resolution that honors the significant contributions and excellence of 
African-American jockeys. The gentleman from Illinois, Congressman 
Bobby Rush, deserves the commendation of all Members for his efforts on 
House Resolution 231.
  I also recognize the resolution's lead cosponsor, my distinguished 
colleague from Kentucky, Congressman Ed Whitfield, to whom I know the 
adoption of the resolution means a great deal. I urge all Members to 
agree to the resolution.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, as the world's attention turns to the 
131st running of the Kentucky Derby, frequently called the most 
exciting two minutes in sports, I would like to turn the House's 
attention to Jimmy ``Wink'' Winkfield, who is a Kentucky Derby legend. 
Jimmy Winkfield overcame adversity throughout his life to become one of 
the greatest jockeys of all time. Not only did Wink win the Kentucky 
Derby back-to-back in 1901 and 1902, but he is the last African-
American jockey to win the derby. For his accomplishments, Wink was 
inducted into the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2004.
  Wink was born in Chilesburg, KY, and won his derbies on Kentucky 
horses. In 1902, His Eminence carried Wink to victory in the 27th 
running of the Kentucky Derby. His Eminence was bred in Kentucky by 
O.H. Chenault. In the 28th Run for the Roses, Wink was carried to 
victory riding Alan-a-Dale, a beautiful horse that was also Kentucky 
bred by T.C. McDowell.

[[Page 8729]]

  Jimmy ``Wink'' Winkfield was truly one of the great jockeys of all 
time and achieved great success despite discrimination and numerous 
setbacks.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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