Abe Hawkins, also known in later years as Uncle Able Hawkins, The Black Prince, The Dark Sage of Louisiana, and The Slayer of Lexington, was a slave on the Ashland sugar plantation located in

Darrow, Louisiana Darrow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 200. It is the location of three properties listed on the U.S ...

, in Ascension Parish. Duncan Farrar Kenner owned the plantation and for ten years Abe was his slave. He rode some 25 horses to victory. Kenner was a businessman that owned and raced horses with a track located on the plantation grounds. In 1854, Kenner purchased slave jockey Abe Hawkins. Abe was considered small and of "light figure" and suited to being a jockey. Abe rode for Kenner until he became a freeman in 1864, and then for

Robert A. Alexander Robert Aitcheson Alexander (1819 – December 1, 1867) was an American breeder of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. Biography Born on a farm near Midway, Woodford County, Kentucky, he and his siblings inherited the property on his father's ...

and was nationally known for fifteen years. By 1865, Abe was rated the second best known athlete behind white jockey

Gilbert Watson Patrick Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

, known as Gilpatrick, and won against him in a

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

before a crowd of 25,000 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Abe had a career twenty-five wins, including the two 1866 wins while under the employ of

, the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

riding Merrill with former slave trainer

Ansel Williamson Ansel Williamson (1806-1881) was an American thoroughbred horse racing trainer and a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He trained horses who won the Kentucky Derby, Travers Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Jerome Handicap, Phoeni ...

, and the first

Jerome Stakes The Jerome Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses run each January at Aqueduct Racetrack. Open to three year olds, the race is run at one mile and carries a purse of $150,000. It is a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying race, with the w ...

riding Watson with trainer Jacob Pincus.Transatlantica: African American Jockeys; Abe
Retrieved 2014-06-09 Abe returned to Ashland in 1866 and lived there until he died on May 4, 1867.

References

19th-century American slaves American jockeys African-American jockeys Year of birth missing 1867 deaths {{US-horseracing-bio-stub