Deshawn Parker is not your typical jockey. He is 46 years old and stands at 5-feet-10-inches, a height that is quite uncommon among others in the sport, and though he is the winningest Black rider in history, Parker’s demeanor exudes a humble dedication to his craft. Throughout his career, which began when he was 16, the Cincinnati native has purse earnings in excess of $60 million and has ridden in more than 30,000 races. Over the past decade, he has won at least 200 races per year.
Parker, a husband and a father of two boys, came to Indiana Grand this year after a long tenure at West Virginia’s Mountaineer Park. At Mountaineer, he was the track’s all-time leading jockey and a perennial rider for 20 years. At his new base in Shelbyville, Indiana, Parker is looking to keep the momentum going. Visitors can take in one of his races on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 2:05 p.m. and on Saturdays at 6:05 p.m.
The Recorder recently sat down with Parker to talk about his career, interests and thoughts on making history.
Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper: You’ve compiled the most wins ever as an African-American jockey. How does it make you feel to be a historical figure?
Parker: It was just a couple years ago, or maybe even last year, that I found out about it. My aunt called me and in Cincinnati it was on a radio station for Black History Month. I didn’t even know and she told me, and I was kind of shocked. I didn’t think I would ride as long as I have or win as many races, so just to have that accomplishment is great.
What was life like for you growing up?
Every summer I got to spend with my dad. He was always working on different racetracks, and I got to go to the track a lot. He was an outrider, and after the races, I got to ride the ponies back to the stables. When I turned 16, I was still light enough, and my dad said that I could ride a couple races to get it out of my system. I rode a couple and fell in love, and he told me that for me to do it (professionally) I would have to graduate high school. One of my high school teachers used to go to the track all the time. He got it worked out to where I was taking three classes and was allowed to work half the day and my teachers would send me my homework.
You’ve mentioned that you never thought you’d be riding as long as you have. I read that at one time you planned to play baseball. What are your thoughts on following the path meant for you?
When I went to high school and I wasn’t getting any thicker — I was still skinny and everything — I figured, hey baseball may not be the thing for me. I never, ever thought about going to college, but I never thought about being a jockey, either. It just worked out that way. I didn’t win my first race; I won one maybe two months later, and then two days later I won another one. Once you start winning races, that’s when you really find out, I can do this. It took me a while.
What do you think took so long?
Just finding a good horse. And plus, a lot of people knew me growing up so they weren’t going to just give me anything. They wanted me to work hard for it, and a lot of them are good friends with my dad and they were leery of putting me on horses, because if something happened they would feel bad. I started at Thistledown in Ohio, and that’s why I left and went to Detroit.
Did you feel like that was a good move to establish yourself as an individual?
Yes, and plus I had to get away from where my dad was working, because every time I rode, he had to step out of the stands. So if I rode five or six races, he would have to be out of the stands the whole time. He probably would have ended up losing his job. He was one of the judges over the race, and people would think that because I’m out there, and something happened he wouldn’t take (my points) down. Which is the complete opposite, because he would actually be harder on me than anybody else. It’s like that today; I can’t ride at any track that he’s at. If I’m there, he has to take off the entire day.
What are your plans for the future?
Everyone asks me that. I don’t know. Everyone asks how long am I going to keep riding, and it’s hard to say while you’re winning. When you’re winning you don’t ever want to stop. I figure if I can get two or three more years in, my plans would be to be in a steward’s stand with my dad and maybe one day we could work together.
