WELCOME FROM THE LEWIS-JOHNSON FAMILY DESCENDANTS
Cultural and Historical Significance
Oliver Lewis helped launch one of America’s greatest sporting traditions, yet his story—and the legacy of Black horsemen who built the early sport—was largely forgotten.
The Oliver Lewis Foundation is a non-profit organization established by the descendants of Oliver Lewis.
Our Statue Commemoration at Churchill Downs on June 24, 2026 restores his rightful place in history.
A Legacy of Excellence and Erasure
Black jockeys like Oliver Lewis, pictured here at age 57, once dominated American horse racing, winning 16 of the first 28 Kentucky Derbies and shaping the early strategies of the sport. But racial discrimination and intimidation during the rise of Jim Crow forced many of these riders from the track. For decades their contributions were overlooked until recent efforts began restoring their rightful place in racing history.
The Lewis-Johnson Family
OUR MISSION
The Oliver Lewis Foundation is dedicated to preserving the multifaceted legacy of Oliver Lewis as an athlete, entrepreneur, and innovator, while creating economic, educational, and athletic pipelines for minority youth in the equine and tech industries.
Contributor
Accreditations
The Lewis-Johnson family
Helen Lewis-Johnson
Ruth Johnson-Watts
Dr. Anne Bulter- University of Kentucky
Dr. Yvonne Giles
Bruce Mundy
Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame
NBC Sports
WLWT NEWS
MCGRATHIANA FARM
(Now UK Coldstream Research Center )