Mint juleps, African-American jockeys and talking to horses

Edition: US - Today's top story: From the Middle East to the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep has always been about staying cool [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 5 May 2018 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note Grab your favorite hat and get ready to guzzle mint juleps – it’s Kentucky Derby time. Just make sure you use a silver cup when drinking your julep, writes Colorado State food historian Jeffrey Miller, [who delves into the history of the Derby’s official cocktail](. At the 144th running, you’ll see jockeys hailing from Louisiana, Mexico, Puerto Rico and France, but none will be African-American. In fact, between 1921 and 2000, not one African-American rode. It wasn’t always this way: In the 19th century, [black men won more than half of the first 25 runnings of the Kentucky Derby](. Legendary jockey “Big Money” Mike Smith will be riding Justify, the favorite at this year’s Derby. The best horse-rider pairs are the ones that can look as if they’re effortlessly moving as one unit. Keri Brandt Off, who has spent years studying the contours of the human-horse relationship, explains how [horses and their riders develop a language of their own](, communicating via touch and physical movements. Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Arts + Culture A woman shares a mint julep with her husband before the running of the 2013 Kentucky Derby. David Goldman/AP Photo [From the Middle East to the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep has always been about staying cool]( Jeffrey Miller, Colorado State University 'Take a silver cup – always a silver cup' and 'fill it with ice pulverized to the fineness of snow,' a Kentucky man explained in 1908. From 1921 to 2000, no black jockeys competed. Wikimedia Commons [How African-Americans disappeared from the Kentucky Derby]( Katherine Mooney, Florida State University Black jockeys won more than half of the first 25 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. 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