Churchill Downs tells Louisville: ‘We are not doing enough, quickly enough’

With the threat of protesters and reports that groups are putting pressure on African-American owners to drop out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs released what it called a “message to the community” on Thursday.

Louisville officials are anticipating Black Lives Matter protesters outside the track on Saturday over the death of Breonna Taylor. Barclay Tagg, the 82-year-old trainer of race favorite Tiz the Law brought more attention to the subject with controversial comments after Tuesday’s post-position draw.

“I don’t know what those guys are going to do, these rioters,” Tagg told WDRB in Louisville. “Who knows? All I know is you’re not allowed to shoot them, and they’re allowed to shoot you. That’s what it looks like to me, so I don’t know what to think about it.”

Thursday the New York Times reported that civil right activists have urged Greg Harbut and Ray Daniels, the owners of entrant Necker Island, to boycott the race. Harbut told the Times he has no intention of doing so.

Churchill Downs released a statement Thursday, saying:

The Kentucky Derby has been run every year for the past 145 years. It is a great American tradition that has survived depressions, wars, pandemics and myriad changes in our country, large and small.

The first Derby was run just ten years after the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery in America. Over ninety years later, during the 1967 Derby, protesters took to the streets around Churchill Downs, demanding equality and change.

Today, more than fifty years after that, our fellow Kentuckians and fellow Americans are still asking to be heard; for all of us to understand the ongoing inequality that exists, and finally to adopt meaningful change.

We are not doing enough, quickly enough. That is true in our country, in our city and in our sport.

We know there are some who disagree with our decision to run the Kentucky Derby this year. We respect that point of view but made our decision in the belief that traditions can remind us of what binds us together as Americans, even as we seek to acknowledge and repair the terrible pain that rends us apart.

Our sport shares a disconcerting history that led to the exclusion of Black jockey participation through the years. The legacy of the Kentucky Derby begins with the incredible success of Black jockeys. We feel it is imperative to acknowledge the painful truths that led to their exclusion. Churchill Downs strongly believes in preserving and sharing the stories of the Black jockeys who are a critical part of this tradition. This is not a new commitment, but we continue to seek ways to share these stories and honor these athletes.

Our goal has always been that the Kentucky Derby and the way it is observed throughout the city should be inclusive of the entire Louisville community. However, we hear the calls to do more and we have challenged ourselves to do so. We hear the voices that tell us we have not successfully created an environment in which everyone feels welcome or included. That is not acceptable and we need to do more to ensure that our best intentions become a reality. We need to do more, now, to ensure that every member of our community is a part of our traditions. Churchill Downs is committed to engaging in the hard conversations in our city, our sport and within our own organization. We are committed to taking real, concrete action to address institutional roadblocks to progress and playing our part in advancing the changes America so desperately needs.

We recognize that people in our community and across our nation are hurting right now. The atmosphere of the Kentucky Derby will be different this year as we respond to those calls for change. This will be a Derby unlike any other. As it should be.

The 35-year-old Harbut is the grandson of Tom Harbut, who was part-owner of Touch Bar in the 1962 Kentucky Derby. Though Tom Harbut served in World War II and was stallion manager at Spendthrift Farm, he was not allowed to sit in the grandstand of the race or have his name listed as an owner because he was Black.

Greg Harbut told Linda Blackford of the Herald-Leader “we’re going to run the horse.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 5:01 PM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-472-4218

John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription