Central Kentucky is home to many magnificent horses and their farms, and a photographic guide goes beyond the numbers and provides insight into the character of these beloved creatures by featuring stories straight from those closest to the horses--the grooms. Original.

Katherine C. Mooney recaptures the sights, sensations, and illusions of America’s first mass spectator sport. Her central characters are not the elite white owners of slaves and thoroughbreds but the black jockeys, grooms, and horse trainers who called themselves race horse men and made the racetrack run—until Jim Crow drove them from their jobs.

In 1799, Revolutionary War veteran General Green Clay finished construction on a stately Georgian mansion he named Clermont. The home became a statewide symbol of prosperity, housing the farm of one of the largest landowners in the Commonwealth. Renamed White Hall by Cassius Marcellus Clay and renovated by his wife, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, it remained in the family for generations. Here Cassius Clay became known as the "Lion of White Hall," penning his fiery speeches against slavery and launching his tumultuous career as an outspoken statesman. After years of restoration, White Hall became a state historic site in 1971. Now, A History of White Hall offers a detailed look inside this expertly preserved structure and the people who helped shape its fascinating history.