Sarah Maslin Nir

We are thrilled to host Sarah Maslin Nir fo rthe launch of her new book, "The Jockey and Her Horse," the true story of the first female Black jockey in history. This is book 2 of the "Once Upon a Horse" series co-authored by New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Maslin Nir tells the story of Cheryl White, the pioneering 17 year old who broke barriers on the racetrack. Co-written by her brother Raymond, Cheryl was a Serena and Venus of her time, whose story has been erased by the racism of history.This middle-grade book goes deeper:  American thoroughbred racing owes its existence to Black labor: in its earliest days people ran the horses they owned with the humans they on their backs.The Jockey and her Horse, tells Cheryl's story and this erased legacy to a new generation.The story has generated real buzz, it has been optioned for two movies and even has a toy coming out, the first real Black doll the cult-classic Breyer Model Horse company has made in its 75 year history. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sarah Maslin Nir is a New York Times reporter, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the author of Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal and The Flying Horse, published by Simon and Schuster. Her new middle grade series, Once Upon a Horse, is published by Cameron Kids. She lives and works in New York City. Ohio-based Raymond White Jr. hails from a family of racehorse professionals and has held almost every job there is in the racing world—jockeys’ agent, exercise rider, assistant trainer, groom—except for jockey, like his sister, Cheryl, because he was too tall! The Jockey & Her Horse is his first book. PRAISE “Sarah Maslin Nir has drawn on a life in love with horses to craft this wonderful novel based on the girlhood of the first Black woman jockey, Cheryl White. Like White, Nir knows the exhilaration of pounding hooves as well as the profound connection that can form between a horse and rider. This is the kind of history we all should know: a moving story of courage and resilience.”