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He broke barriers at Louisiana tracks but 6 decades later his career is in tatters

The Sam family says a horse in their care got very sick, but photos of the sickly gelding essentially destroyed his career without him getting his day in court.

Mike Perlstein / WWL Louisiana Investigator

Sam family

Published: 9:39 PM CST February 6, 2023
Updated: 9:58 PM CST February 6, 2023

Growing up on a farm just outside Opelousas, Thomas Sam fell in love with animals. Especially horses.

After he got old enough to ride the mules and ponies, a neighbor showed him how to ride a quarter horse. The speed was not only intoxicating, it launched a career that has now stretched almost 60 years, with Sam and his family breaking the horse-racing color barrier at a few stops along the way.

In addition to Sam being one of the first black jockeys at Delta Downs, his father, Wilson Sam, was the first minority trainer at Evangeline Downs. His cousin J.D. Sam was the first jockey in the state to die on the track after being thrown from his mount during a 1987 race at Delta Downs.

Starting with bush tracks near Lafayette and working his way up to thoroughbred races at Delta and Evangeline Downs, Sam enjoyed his own long run of success. He won his first race at age 15 and rode his first thoroughbred winner, Sir Faithful, a couple of years later.

“He's one of the few black jockeys that started down in that area, so he had to overcome that, and he did,” said fellow horseman Arthur Morrell, former New Orleans Clerk of Criminal Court.

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