Alonzo Clayton (January 4, 1876 – March 17, 1917) was an American

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

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 racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

described by author Edward Hotaling, as "one of the great riders of the New York circuit all through the 1890s" and who holds the record as the youngest jockey to ever win the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

Biography

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, Lonnie Clayton was most likely born in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, on January 4, 1876, which is the date of birth and place of birth that are given on his death certificate. He was one of the nine children of Robert and Evaline Clayton. At age ten, his family moved to

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

, where he attended school and worked as a

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of specific items to their superior(s). Examples of these items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term is use ...

for a hotel and as a

shoeshine boy Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally ...

to help support his family. According to the Central Arkansas Library System's ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture'', a correspondent for the ''Thoroughbred Record'' wrote in 1896 that Clayton attended school and was considered "exceptionally bright." At age twelve the diminutive Lonnie Clayton left home and made his way north to Chicago's

Washington Park Race Track Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated at what became the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodl ...

where his brother Albertus was a

for prominent

stable owner,

Lucky Baldwin Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin (April 3, 1828 – March 1, 1909) was "one of the greatest pioneers" of California business, an investor, and real estate speculator during the second half of the 19th century. He earned the nickname "Lucky" Baldwin ...

. Lonnie Clayton was given a job as a stablehand and exercise rider for the Baldwin stable then the following year he moved east to the Clifton Race Track in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

where in 1890 the fourteen-year-old began his professional riding career. Immediately successful, in 1891 at

Morris Park Racetrack Morris Park Racecourse was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1889 to 1904. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later developed as the neighborhood of Morris Park. ...

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

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 * ...

, Clayton won the important Champagne Stakes aboard Bashford Manor Stable's two-year-old colt, Azra. On May 11, 1892, he rode Azra to victory in the

which at age fifteen made him the youngest jockey in history to ever win the Derby. Clayton and Azra followed up their Derby success with victories in the

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 ...

and 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 "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

. At

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

Clayton won the 1893

Monmouth Handicap The Philip H. Iselin Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses three years of age and older, the race was first run in 1884. In 1891, New Jersey state legislator ...

and went on to win the fall riding title at

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 ...

. One of the leading money winners on the East Coast racing circuit during the 1890s, he won races from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He captured back-to-back runnings of the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...

in 1894 and 1895, the latter a year in which he won 144 races and finished in the money sixty percent of the time. In 1895 he won the

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, t ...

and in 1896 finished third in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

aboard the filly, Intermission.

The 1898 Incident at Morris Park

On October 14, 1898, Clayton was riding Warrenton in the third race at Morris Park in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, and both he and the horse had a terrible race. As he was weighing out, someone said something that provoked the jockey to strike a spectator, Henry Bolomey, across the face with the butt end of his riding whip. The track stewards find Clayton $200.00. Two hundred dollars in 1898 would correspond to $6,578.39 in 2021 dollars. Bolomey, a Brooklyn ice dealer, sued Clayton in civil court for $10,000.00 for pain and suffering, and the case was tried on February 21, 1900. Bolomey received a judgment of $1,250.00 in damages, plus the plaintiff's costs of $201.98, for a total of $1,451.98. According to an online inflation calculator, that judgment would be $47,189.87 in 2021 dollars. Henry Bolomey's attorney began to actively attempt to search for Clayton's property in an attempt to collect the judgment, but each time he tried he was unsuccessful as Clayton all but vanished from the horse racing circuit for about a year. When Clayton returned to the turf at New York's

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...

, the Queens County Deputy Sheriff arrested him on April 22, 1901, on a body execution for non-payment of a civil judgment, just as he was about to ride The Golden Prince in the fifth race. Clayton was put in the Queens County Jail in Long Island City. He was incarcerated for at least two months, and was released at some point after mid-June 1901. It is not known if he and Bolomey reached a financial settlement.

Other Financial Difficulties

Lonnie Clayton's early success had allowed him to acquire a property in Little Rock, Arkansas, upon which he competed construction of a new home in early 1895. Described by the ''

Arkansas Gazette The ''Arkansas Gazette'' was a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that was published from 1819 to 1991. It was known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River. It was located from 1908 until its closing at the now historic Gazette ...

'' as the "finest house on the North Side," it was designed in the fashion of

Queen Anne style architecture in the United States Queen Anne style architecture was one of a number of popular Victorian architecture, Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910. It is sometimes grouped as New World Queen Anne R ...

and is today known as Engelberger House, and since 1990 has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. An astute businessman, in 1897 Clayton also built a commercial building at 617–619 Main Street in Little Rock, which stood until about 1980. A lien of $600 was placed on Clayton's house in 1897, and two separate liens of $900 and $500 were added in 1899. In 1900, Clayton was sued by his older brother, Charles Clayton, who won a judgment for $511.00. Another judgment against Clayton in 1900 was for $160.05, and then another judgment for $75.00. Records also show that Clayton did not pay the real estate taxes on his North Argenta house and property in 1899. Clayton sold his house on July 12, 1900, and quickly paid off his back real estate taxes, the liens, and the judgment he owed his brother and another Little Rock businessman. He also sold his North Little Rock commercial building on April 13, 1901, just nine days before his eventual arrest for non-payment of the judgment to Henry Bolomey.

Later years

By the start of the 20th century, opportunities to ride for African-Americans soon vanished as stable owners switched to using

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

riders only. Within a few years, African-American jockeys, who had dominated racing for centuries and who had played a major role in bringing Thoroughbred racing to the forefront of American sport, were forced out of the business. Since 1909, no African-American jockey has ridden a winner in any major American

Graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

. An 1896 report and a 1900 report in the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' stated that Clayton planned to join other black jockeys riding in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

but no records have been found to confirm he actually went there. Clayton moved west to try to find work, and was riding in

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

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, before moving to

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, where it is not known if he was a jockey or a businessman.Drobnicki, 345-346. Clayton lived his last few years in

where he worked as a hotel

bellhop A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform, like certain other page boys or doormen. This occupation is also know ...

. He died at age forty one on March 17, 1917, of chronic

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles. Alonzo Clayton's accomplishments in racing were recognized by the

Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is the hall of fame and museum for sports in Arkansas, United States. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959. The Hall's museum is located on the west end of the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, ...

with his induction in 2012.

Biography

The 1898 Incident at Morris Park

Other Financial Difficulties

Later years

References

Further reading