Once upon a time, the greats in horse racing were black men

            Until Jim Crow came

This 1864 painting tells the story of the stealing of the famous thoroughbred, Asteroid, by Confederates.

Seemingly posing for the painter, are groom, jockey and horse. Besides famous horse Asteroid, the crouching jockey-slave Edward Brown was also well-known for winning races. In the background behind these three are Confederate raiders in grey uniforms. This painting portrays the real-life story when Confederates rode into Woodburn Farm, which was a former thoroughbred horse farm near Midway, Kentucky, and stole the world-famous Kentucky stallion, Asteroid, along with other sires. 

The horse was later rescued from the rebels after $250 in ransom was paid for it. I suspect winning thoroughbreds, although fast, did not make great war horses. Or they were so famous that they were hard to sell once stolen.

Woodbury Farm packed up and left dangerous Kentucky for Illinois.

After the war, there was a liberal gap in time where Republicans pushed for black men to have full rights as citizens. Jockey Edward Brown found himself a free man. He became a famous trainer and a thoroughbred owner. The horses that the entrepreneur owned and raised would eventually include several Kentucky Derby winners. The owners of Kentucky Derby winners tend to make considerable money in siring fees or anticipated future siring fees.
—-

Painting title: The Undefeated Asteroid (1864)
Artist: Edward Troye
Material: Oil on canvas
Venue: J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
   

Some rights reserved

Taken in: United States / Kentucky / Louisville (show map)

Taken on: November 24, 2019

Tags:

13th Amendment

14th Amendment

Asteroid

C.S.A.

Civil War history

Confederate raiders

Edward Brown

Jim Crow era

Kentucky

Rebels

Woodburn Farm

Woodford County

black entrepreneur

black history

groom

jockey

painting

slave

slavery

stealing famous stallions

thoroughbred « less

Sets appears in: • Horse capital of the world: Kentucky • Artsy

Groups appears in: • Kentucky • modern art more » • The Fading History of America • Flickr: History • Kentucky History « less

Camera: Nikon D850, f/3.0, 1/60 sec, 105mm, ISO 1800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Lens:	105.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/3.0
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	105mm
ISO:	1800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Saturation:	Low
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 9.1 (Macintosh)
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