Abraham Perry (c. 1842-1908) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse trainer born in

Midway, Kentucky Midway is a Home rule, home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, Woodford County, Kentucky, in the United States. Its population was 1,741 at the time of the year 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan St ...

best remembered as the winner of the 1885 Kentucky Derby with

Joe Cotton Joanne Monique "Joe" Cotton, is a Canadian-born New Zealand pop singer who gained recognition as a member of the girl group TrueBliss, formed in 1999 on ''Popstars''. Cotton has since joined a cover band, The Mermaids Danceband. She has also w ...

. He was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

trainer of a classic race winner to be mentioned in post-race reports.

Racing career

Abe Perry began his career training for Gen. Abraham Buford at his Bosque Bonita breeding farm in

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles, Kentucky, Versailles. The area was home to Pi ...

. From 1876 through 1878 he conditioned the colt McWhirter to several

stakes race The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

wins. He ran fifth to

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

in the May 22,

1877 Kentucky Derby The 1877 Kentucky Derby was the 3rd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 22, 1877. The 1877 Derby was the first to attract a major celebrity spectator, Polish actress Helena Modjeska. Full results Payout The winner receive ...

but came back less than a week later to defeat Baden-Baden in the May 28

Clark Handicap The Clark Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business. C ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

. Among his other wins with Joe Cotton, in 1885 Abe Perry won the important

Tennessee Derby The Tennessee Derby is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race that was run annually from 1884 to 1886 and then 1890–1906 at the Montgomery Park Race Track located on the Memphis Fairgrounds in Tennessee. The Tennessee Derby rivaled the ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and Coney Island Derby at the

Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a grou ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Perry is buried in African Cemetery No. 2 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

References

External links

McWhirter (1874)African Americans in Racing
1840s births 1908 deaths 19th-century African-American people American racehorse trainers People from Midway, Kentucky {{US-horseracing-bio-stub