Billy Walker (jockey)

Billy Walker

Personal information
Born	1860 (1860) Woodford County, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	(1933-09-20)September 20, 1933 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Louisville Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
Occupations	Jockey, trainer
Horse racing career
Sport	Horse racing
Major racing wins
As a jockey: Kentucky Derby (1877) Ten Broeck–Mollie McCarty match race (1878)
Honors
William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs
Significant horses
Baden-Baden, Ten Broeck, Sir Barton
Updated on August 13, 2026

William "Billy" Walker Sr. (1860 – September 20, 1933) was an American jockey, horse trainer and Thoroughbred pedigree expert. Born into slavery in Woodford County, Kentucky, Walker began racing as a child and became one of the leading African American jockeys during the early years of Churchill Downs.

At age seventeen, Walker rode Baden-Baden to victory in the 1877 Kentucky Derby, becoming the second African American jockey to win the race. He later rode Ten Broeck in several of the era's most celebrated races, including the horse's victory over California champion Mollie McCarty in their famous 1878 match race at Louisville.

Following his retirement from riding in 1896, Walker became a trainer and one of the country's respected authorities on Thoroughbred pedigrees. He worked for breeder John E. Madden at Hamburg Place and was the first trainer of Sir Barton, who in 1919 became the first horse retrospectively recognized as winner of the American Triple Crown.

Early life

Walker was born into slavery in 1860 in Woodford County, Kentucky, near Versailles. Sources describe him as the son of enslaved parents, and some evidence associates his childhood with Bosque Bonita, the Woodford County farm of Abraham Buford II.

Walker began riding competitively at age eleven in 1871. He rode first at Jerome Park in New York and later that year at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington, Kentucky. He won his first race during that season and his first stakes race at age thirteen.

Like many successful African American jockeys of the period, Walker entered professional racing while still a child. Black horsemen had developed extensive expertise as riders, trainers and grooms during slavery and remained prominent in American racing in the decades immediately following the American Civil War. Walker became part of the first generation of nationally prominent African American athletes in the sport.

Walker was also associated with the development of fellow African American jockey Isaac Burns Murphy, who later became the first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby three times.

Riding career

Early Kentucky Derbies

Walker was fifteen when he rode Bob Woolley in the inaugural 1875 Kentucky Derby at the Louisville Jockey Club, the track later known as Churchill Downs. He finished fourth behind Aristides and jockey Oliver Lewis. Thirteen of the fifteen riders in the first Derby were African American.

The day after the Derby, Walker rode Excel on the second racing program ever held at the new Louisville track. During the race, jockey William "Billy" Lakeland crowded Excel toward the rail, causing the horse to strike the fence. Walker remained aboard, regained control and rallied to finish second. Track officials subsequently presented the fifteen-year-old with $25 in recognition of his riding and composure.

Walker returned for the 1876 Kentucky Derby aboard Bombay, finishing eighth. By this period he had become one of the dominant riders at Louisville. Churchill Downs has credited Walker as the leading jockey at six of the track's first thirteen racing meetings.

1877 Kentucky Derby

Walker rode under contract for Kentucky breeder and horseman Daniel Swigert, whose horses were trained in part by former jockey Edward D. Brown. Among the stable's three-year-olds in 1877 was Baden-Baden.

Walker and Baden-Baden contested the third Kentucky Derby on May 22, 1877. The favorite Leonard led during the first half of the 1+1⁄2-mile race, while Walker kept Baden-Baden several lengths behind the leaders. Baden-Baden advanced on the backstretch, took command with approximately six furlongs remaining and defeated Leonard by two lengths in 2:38.

The victory was the only Kentucky Derby win for both Walker and Brown. Walker was seventeen years old and became the second African American jockey to win the race, following Oliver Lewis in 1875.

Baden-Baden was subsequently sold, and Walker became increasingly associated with another of the leading racehorses of the decade, Ten Broeck.

Ten Broeck

Walker rode Ten Broeck, one of the leading American Thoroughbreds of the 1870s, during the latter part of the horse's racing career.

In October 1877, Walker rode Ten Broeck at Pimlico Race Course in the celebrated 2½-mile race against Parole and Tom Ochiltree. The three horses were regarded among the leading runners in the United States. Parole won the race, with Ten Broeck finishing behind him. The contest attracted national attention and became one of the most famous American races of the nineteenth century.

Walker's best-known association with Ten Broeck came the following year. On July 4, 1878, Ten Broeck met California mare Mollie McCarty at the Louisville Jockey Club in a widely publicized match between leading representatives of Eastern and Western racing.

Approximately 30,000 spectators reportedly attended the event. Walker rode Ten Broeck to victory, handing Mollie McCarty the first defeat of her career. The contest became part of American racing folklore and inspired versions of the traditional song commonly known as "Molly and Tenbrooks".

Later riding career

Walker continued riding after the height of his success in the 1870s. As the nineteenth century progressed, African American jockeys increasingly faced racial discrimination and declining opportunities in major American racing.

Weight also became an increasing difficulty for Walker as he grew older. He nevertheless remained active long after most jockeys of his generation.

Walker made his fourth and final Kentucky Derby appearance in 1896, twenty-one years after riding in the inaugural running. Aboard a horse named The Winner, he finished seventh. His four Derby mounts were Bob Woolley in 1875, Bombay in 1876, Baden-Baden in 1877 and The Winner in 1896.

Walker retired from race riding following the 1896 season.

Training and breeding career

Walker remained extensively involved in Thoroughbred racing after leaving the saddle. He became a horse trainer and developed a reputation for his knowledge of bloodlines and breeding.

His expertise eventually brought him into the operation of prominent breeder John E. Madden, owner of Hamburg Place near Lexington. Madden had developed one of the country's leading Thoroughbred breeding programs and frequently bought, sold and bred valuable racehorses.

Walker became one of Madden's advisers on pedigrees and mating plans. Contemporary and later accounts described Walker as having an unusually extensive memory for Thoroughbred families, and buyers and breeders sought his judgment at yearling sales.

In 1915, Madden hired Walker to train a division of his racing stable.

Sir Barton

Among the young horses placed in Walker's care was Sir Barton, bred by Madden in 1916. Walker became the colt's first trainer and prepared him for his first four races as a two-year-old in 1918.

Sir Barton did not win during his four starts for Walker and Madden. In August 1918, Madden sold him to Canadian sportsman J. K. L. Ross, who transferred the colt to trainer H. Guy Bedwell.

The following spring, Sir Barton won the 1919 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. The three victories were later recognized as the first sweep of what became known as the American Triple Crown.

Walker's role as Sir Barton's first trainer added another connection to the Kentucky Derby beyond his own victory as a jockey.

Later life

Walker continued working in racing into old age. He regularly attended Thoroughbred sales at Saratoga Springs, New York, where his knowledge of pedigrees was sought by breeders and purchasers.

He also worked as a clocker, timing horses during morning workouts at Churchill Downs. Later accounts described him as particularly adept at identifying individual horses and recording fractional times even when several were working together.

Walker remained closely associated with Churchill Downs throughout his life. He reportedly attended each of the first 59 Kentucky Derbies, from the inaugural running in 1875 through the 1933 race. He lived for many years on South First Street in Louisville, within easy reach of the racetrack.

Despite the exclusion of most African American horsemen from prominent positions in American racing by the early twentieth century, Walker maintained a successful career in the Thoroughbred industry as a trainer, pedigree adviser and clocker.

Death and legacy

Walker died in Louisville on September 20, 1933. He was buried at Louisville Cemetery, a historically African American cemetery near Eastern Parkway and Poplar Level Road.

His grave was originally unmarked. After it was rediscovered in the 1990s, Churchill Downs erected a headstone before the 1996 Kentucky Derby, commemorating Walker's career and his 1877 Derby victory.

In 2015, Churchill Downs inaugurated the William Walker Stakes in his honor. The race is held during the Churchill Downs spring meeting.

External Sources

• Kentucky Historical Society at the Wayback Machine (archived October 25, 2004)