Oliver Lewis Explained

Oliver Lewis
Occupation:Jockey
Birth Place:Fayette County, Kentucky
Birth Date:1856
Death Date:1924
Death Place:Lexington, Kentucky
Race:American Classics wins:
Kentucky Derby (1875)
Honours:Oliver Lewis Way, Lexington, Kentucky
Horses:Aristides

Oliver Lewis (1856–1924) was an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. On May 17, 1875, Lewis won the very first Kentucky Derby aboard Aristides. The pair won by a reported two lengths, setting a new American record time for a mile-and-a-half race. Lewis and Aristides took second place in the Belmont Stakes, which is now the third race of the U.S. Triple Crown series.[1] [2] He is the great great grandfather of actor Rodney Van Johnson.Lewis was born in Fayette County, Kentucky in 1856. After his death in 1924 he was buried in Benevolent Society No. 2 Cemetery, which is now known as African Cemetery No. 2.[3] [4]

On September 8, 2010 the Newtown Pike Extension in Lexington, Kentucky was named Oliver Lewis Way in honor of Lewis’s historic accomplishments.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Kentucky Derby's Forgotten Jockeys - African American jockeys once dominated the track. Smithsonian Institution . 2009-04-23 . 2018-11-01.
  2. Web site: Eight Acres of History: Lexington's African Cemetery No. 2 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160104062442/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2-7s95OJiM . 2016-01-04 . dead. YouTube . Lexington Public Library . 24 January 2019.
  3. Web site: Oliver Lewis . ky.gov . Kentucky Commission on Human Rights . 24 January 2019.
  4. Web site: African Cemetery No. 2 . africancemeteryno2.org . African Cemetery No. 2 Inc. . 24 January 2019.
  5. Web site: What you may not know about Lexington’s newest road . Lexington Herald-Leader . 2017-09-27 . 2018-11-01.