NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A place has been part of the Nashville story for more than 200 years. The crew there has committed themselves to telling some stories that haven't been told enough. They're getting a little help from some friends in Kentucky.
"Belle Meade was an American thoroughbred stud farm," said Kelci Rogers of Belle Meade Historic Site. "The family here made their money off of horse racing and all the breeding, trading, selling of horses here."
The connections to horse racing begin there in the mid-1810s. Today, Rogers tells the stories of this place, including the under told stories. That includes Robert Green, a Black man whose story at Belle Meade begins before the Civil War.
"He was enslaved on this property," Rogers said. "He stays on after emancipation as the head hostler here when he was a contract laborer."
The site today often tells the stories of Black historical figures in horse racing, and that's what's led to this.
"Before the Civil War and before emancipation, you're going to primarily see Black and enslaved jockeys," Rogers continued.
A traveling exhibit is on loan now through August 20th from Keeneland Library in Lexington, Kentucky. It's pictures and stories of Black horsemen and women.
"It covers from enslavement until modern day," Rogers explained.
A lot of it is the under told history of Black jockeys. The exhibit is called The Heart of the Turf: Racing's Black Pioneers Exhibit.
There have been some efforts locally to get that story better known. I can remember in 2023, the Kennie Playhouse Theatre did a stage production called Pure Confidence. That was about a Black jockey living before the Civil War. Because enslaved jockeys' names sometimes weren't recorded, a lot of their stories went untold.
"Unfortunately, a lot of times they would have also been children," Rogers said of pre-Civil War jockeys.
The story of Belle Meade as a stud farm ends in 1906, though a connection to horse racing remained.
"We actually did have a horse that lived here, his name was Bonnie Scotland," Rogers said.
Many winning horses have lineage traced back to Bonnie Scotland. There are a lot of stories to be told here, Bonnie Scotland to Robert Green.
"He's really important to the story here and really the reason for the family's success," Rogers said of Green.
Rogers is ready to tell stories from the well-known to the under told.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
A slip-and-slide for seniors?! Who knew it could stir laughter and tears. Photojournalist Angie Dones captures a story filled with so much joy and one that will tug at your heartstrings.
- Carrie Sharp
