NORTH RANDALL — Northeast Ohio can boast a lot of firsts. Frank Robinson was the first Black manager in Major League Baseball when he was with what was then the Cleveland Indians. The first Black mayor to lead a major U.S. city was Carl B. Stokes when he was elected as the mayor of Cleveland in 1968.
Well, there’s another first that most people don’t know about, until now. News 5's Danita Harris caught up with Raymond White, Jr. recently to talk about his “quietly” famous late sister, and his mission is to turn up the volume on her success.
His sister’s name is Cheryl White. She was the first African-American female horse racing jockey in the U.S., making history at Jack Thistledown when she was just 17 years old.
Cheryl grew up on a horse farm in Rome, Ohio and always loved horses. Her brother Raymond said Cheryl would say, “I’ve been riding horses since before I could even walk.”
Cheryl was never intimidated by the male-dominated sport. She was a woman who was tough and always stood her ground. Cheryl rode horses that others feared and won many awards for her excellence as a jockey. As great as she was, she never wanted the limelight or attention. Cheryl just loved to ride.
But her brother Raymond told Danita that he is his sister's biggest fan. So he co-wrote the just-released book “The Jockey and Her Horse" with New York Times reporter Sara Maslin Nir. It’s a story that needs to be told and shared.
Cheryl White was a phenomenal woman who jockeyed her way into the history books and a model of what hard work and determination can accomplish.
Raymond has launched a website where you can learn more about Cheryl's life and amazing career.
