cover image WINK: The Incredible Life and Epic Journey of Jimmy Winkfield

WINK: The Incredible Life and Epic Journey of Jimmy Winkfield

Ed Hotaling, Edward Hotaling, . . McGraw-Hill, $22.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-07-141862-1

In mid- and late-19th-century America, horse racing led American sports, and within that world, black jockeys dominated. From the bluegrass of Kentucky to the fabled domes of Saratoga, one black jockey, Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield, overshadowed all the others by the turn of the century. With the rapid-fire patter of a track announcer, Hotaling, who penned the definitive history of black jockeys (The Great Black Jockeys ), traces Wink's meteoric rise and tragic fall with eloquence and vivacity. As a child, Wink (1880–1974) was enthralled by stories of the great black riders, and by the time he was 17, he was toiling as a stable boy, eventually working his way up to jockey. A quick study, Wink became one of horse racing's most successful jockeys, winning two consecutive Kentucky Derbies, two consecutive Russian Derbies and numerous Warsaw Derbies. As the role of black jockeys began to wane in America and they began receiving threats from the KKK, Wink made a new career for himself in Russia and in Europe, racing in events there, winning big and even marrying a Russian heiress. Alas, after WWII, when he returned to the U.S., he encountered racism and the pain that comes with being a has-been. Hotaling's lovingly crafted reminiscence of a great athlete brings a vanished American subculture to light. Agent, Jenny Bent. (Nov. 1)