Rich Strike highlights horse racing’s lack of diversity

By GARY B. GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — When Rich Strike bolted into horse racing’s spotlight in a little over minute with his Kentucky Derby upset victory, he shared the stage with his handler, who has long toiled in the shadows constantly tending to the champion colt. Rich Strike’s attention stems for winning as a nearly 81-1 long shot, groom Jerry Dixon Jr.’s new-found recognition comes from being one of few Black horsemen left in the sport once dominated by people who look like him. Black jockeys won 15 of the first 28 Derbies but Dixon says years afterward, “you can see the change, like we were slowly fading away.”