Tina Knowles Snubbed For 'White Couple' At Kentucky Derby
Tina Knowles Says She Was Pushed Aside For A White Couple At The Kentucky Derby — ‘Oh We Need A White Person?’
Tina Knowles is opening up about a time when she was disrespected at one of the biggest events in the South: The Kentucky Derby. The 71-year-old businesswoman appeared at Peacock’s brand new three-part documentary High Horse: The Black Cowboy, which debuted Nov. 20, where she claimed a staffer intentionally pushed a white couple in front of her as she was getting ready to walk down the red carpet.
“It was a very big wake-up call for me to attend the Kentucky Derby and to see this closed-off culture,” Knowles recalled, according to People. “I mean, just blatant, on the red carpet, someone came up and said, ‘Oh, Tina Knowles is next.’ And the other young lady walked up and said, ‘Oh no, because we need a…’ And ran right into my face, and I said, ‘… a White person?’”
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Knowles, who famously attended the Kentucky Derby in 2024, alleged that the staffer “went behind” her, blatantly ignoring her turn on the red carpet, to get the white couple and placed them “on” before, a moment she felt was “racially charged.”
“There’s a lot of racially charged energy,” she added.
Social media users have been expressing their thoughts about the controversial moment, with many saying they weren’t surprised by Tina Knowles’ story.
“UNFORTUNATELY, IGNORANCE IS IGNORANCE. HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE,” wrote one user in the comments section of The Jasmine Brand, after the outlet shared a story about the famous glam ma’s red carpet incident.
Another user penned, “Remember, SEGREGATION was a thing we fought extremely hard against it they never wanted us around them, nor in their spaces. Even today, we beg every day for INCLUSION into their spaces. They would be more than able to go back to that era!”
A third added, “I’m from Ky and this is no surprise….”
What High Horse: The Black Cowboy Is About
Jordan Peele’s newest documentary, High Horse: The Black Cowboy, pulls back the curtain on the true history of the American West, one in which Black cowboys played a defining role that has long been overlooked.
Created in partnership with Monkeypaw Productions, the three-part series brings together voices from Black actors, musicians, creatives, and cultural leaders to examine how the myth of the “white cowboy” took hold, and how Black riders were gradually written out of the narrative.
The documentary features appearances from Lori Harvey, Bun B, Blanco Brown, Tina Knowles, Pam Grier, INK, Rick Ross, Glynn Turman, the Compton Cowboys, and Peele himself.
A Forgotten Legacy in Horse Racing
The history of Black equestrians doesn’t end on the Western frontier. The Kentucky Derby—America’s oldest continuously running sporting event, established in 1875—also carries deep Black roots that many have forgotten. Held every first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, the Derby is famous for its intense competition, sweeping tradition, and iconic fashion.
But its earliest champions were Black. The first Kentucky Derby, run on May 17, 1875, was won by jockey Oliver Lewis, who also set a national record with his time. Between 1875 and 1902, Black riders won 15 of the Derby’s first 28 races, People noted.
Black women made their mark in competitive horse racing, too. As previously reported, after gaining freedom following the Civil War, Eliza “Aunt Eliza” Carpenter traveled to Madisonville, Kentucky, where she learned to buy, train, and ride horses. Her expertise eventually led her to open her own stable in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where she competed in—and won—multiple races.
Nearly a century later, in 1971, 17-year-old Cheryl White became the first licensed Black female jockey in the United States, breaking new ground for women in the sport.
More recently, in 2022, a team of Black women from the Black-owned stable Living The Dream made history at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. Their horse, Seven Scents, crossed the finish line first, making them the first African American female syndicate to own a winning racehorse at the track.
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