Oliver Lewis

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Oliver Lewis was a thoroughbred horse racing jockey. In 1875, Lewis ran in the very first Kentucky Derby on the winning horse, Aristides. Lewis and Aristides took second place in the Belmont Stakes, which is now the third race of the Triple Crown.

In the southern part of the United States, only a decade after the American Civil War, the working class of horse racing, including jockeys and trainers, was predominantly African-American. The field Lewis raced against featured only one Caucasian rider.