Jockeying for Position: Horse Racing in New Orleans, 1865-1920 Matthew As Ul Perreault Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2016 Jockeying for Position: Horse Racing in New Orleans, 1865-1920 Matthew aS ul Perreault Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Perreault, Matthew Saul, "Jockeying for Position: Horse Racing in New Orleans, 1865-1920" (2016). LSU Master's Theses. 3455. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3455 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOCKEYING FOR POSITION: HORSE RACING IN NEW ORLEANS, 1865-1920 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of History by Matthew Saul Perreault B.A., University of Connecticut, 2011 May 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the inordinate amount of time it took to complete this thesis, the person who least believed I could finish it was me. Thankfully, there were a number of people who helped me along in this process, and without their support, I could not have accomplished it. First and foremost, my utmost appreciation goes to my advisor, Gaines Foster. He has been the epitome of patience. I was not the most diligent advisee, but when I did stay on track with my writing, his insightful comments, suggestions, and revisions were invaluable. His willingness to sit down and help me deconstruct the assumptions behind what I thought were obvious key themes has not only greatly influenced this work, but my growth as a historian. I truly owe an academic debt to him. I would also like to thank my other committee members, David Culbert and Aaron Sheehan-Dean, for their assistance throughout the process. They not only provided necessary edits to the final product, but also helped me make broader connections between the world of sports and American society. Finally, many thanks to all my other professors who helped me expand my mode of thinking and improve my writing – though the improvement is an endless process. Next, I would like to thank my departmental colleagues and history cohort. Jonathon Awtrey, Tom Barber, and Lindsay Silver Hollembaek have all reviewed sections of this work as it has been worked on over the years and their feedback has been invaluable. Beyond that, the camaraderie manifested in our cohort and the endless historical discussions have been just as beneficial towards my intellectual development. We would be remiss to not humbly thank – and apologize to – the gracious staff of The Chimes for all the times where our heated debates did not get us banned from the restaurant. ii Finally, thank you to my family for being my greatest supporters throughout my collegiate career. My sister, Rebecca Perreault, has always been there to help with things I never even knew I needed. My parents, Roland and Donna Perreault, have given me the opportunity to pursue my academic ambitions and they continue to guide me through life. My feline writing companion, The Dread Pirate Roberts, has kept me company while I worked through many late nights. And last, but not least, I would like to thank my fiancée, Liz Sills. Her wisdom, passion, and ambition continue to inspire me every day. Thank you – so, so much – for being yourself. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: RACE FOR GLORY: THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ROLE IN THE WORLD OF THE TURF ......................................................................................................12 CHAPTER TWO: A BETTER BREED OF HORSES: CLASS CONFLICT, MODERNIZATION, AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF HORSE RACING ....................................................................................................................53 CHAPTER THREE: A BETTER BREED OF MEN: MORAL REFORMERS, STATE POLITICS, AND THE DEBATE OVER THE CONTROL OF HORSE RACING IN LOUISIANA ..............................................................................................84 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................123 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................129 Primary Sources ..............................................................................................................129 Secondary Sources ..........................................................................................................132 APPENDIX: PARI-MUTUEL GAMBLING .............................................................................139 VITA ...........................................................................................................................................141 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Jockey Jimmy Lee .........................................................................................................42 Figure 2: Jimmy Lee at the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1908 ...................................................43 Figure 3: Charles R. Ellison presenting the Heaslip Cup to Jockey Joe Notter at the City Park Race Track in New Orleans on February 1, 1908 .........................................................46 v ABSTRACT From 1865 to 1920, Thoroughbred horse racing matured in Louisiana, developing into a national sport shaped by the processes of modernization, professionalization, and reform. Before the onset of the Civil War, the leaders of Southern thoroughbred horse racing came from the planter elite who used African-American slave horsemen in shows of “amateur” recreation. Combining upper-class recreation with lower and middle-class entertainment, horse racing was a performance of social power. The Civil War devastated the Louisiana turf, scattering horses and men – but sportsmen proposed that post-war racing would help the state recover. The once- independent New Orleans turf joined an interconnected network of major tracks as the professional turfmen adopted national racing ideals and standards. Thanks to the turfmen’s efforts to promote and democratize the sport, New Orleans became the national capital of winter racing. The professional class leading the Louisiana turf reflected the fusion of gambling-as- business with a larger organizational transformation that was occurring. The modernization of the track brought more lucrative prospects to everyone in racing, including black horsemen and professional gamblers. After emancipation, black horsemen prospered on the track; their continued success in a meritocratic profession allowed them to earn a significant salary, widespread acclaim, and social mobility. But the equality espoused by some of the black horsemen troubled white turfmen who then enacted widespread informal policies leading to the national subordination and exclusion of African-American jockeys. Emphasizing gambling also piqued Progressive and moral reformers seeking to cleanse the tracks of an ostensibly undesirable element. The means to reform was uncertain, and a debate between regulation and prohibition arose in the Louisiana Legislature. In the end, the legislature passed laws that banned vi racetrack gambling and, effectively, shut down the New Orleans tracks. When Louisiana gambling laws were repealed, a decline in public interest meant fewer tracks reopened, leading to increased competition for mounts, and no opportunity for black horsemen thanks to Louisiana’s solidification of Jim Crow. The convergence of racial ideology, economic interest, and moral reform all fundamentally influenced the reemergence and decline of thoroughbred horse racing in New Orleans from Reconstruction through the Progressive Era. vii INTRODUCTION Isaac Murphy was the preeminent jockey – black or white – in the United States at the close of the nineteenth-century. He won three Kentucky Derbies in the 1880s and 1890s and earned substantial fortune and fame for himself. He came to prominence during a time when the racetrack had become an important national recreation, as professional sportsmen sought to earn social prestige and profit on the turf. These sportsmen successfully used principles of modernization and democratization to transform the turf from its pre-modern antebellum roots into a network of interconnected national tracks. Sportsmen, turfmen, horsemen, and gamblers alike all shared in the profits of the track. The economic changes occurring at the track brought with them a lucrative opportunity for skilled black horsemen to earn fame, fortune, and glory. Isaac Murphy was the greatest of them and his success “fueled hopes of the coming of a racially integrated America, founded on the idea that equality