“It can be hard and isolating,” Franklin, 22, from Orangeburg, S.C., said from inside the Laurel Park jockeys locker room, known as “the jock’s room.”
A room, Franklin said, that on average is filled with 30 other sustenance-sacrificing jockeys all fighting for the same prize money.
“There’s definitely some jealousy and hate,” Franklin said.
There are a few who make racial comments, some under muddled breaths, some over raised voices, Franklin said.
But Franklin tries his best to move forward.
“I’ve learned to blow it off and not let it bother me too much,” he said, quickly pointing out he’s accepted by most.
But in a sport where death is merely a misstep away, the pursuit of prize money can breed dangerous maneuvers on the track.
In February, Franklin competed at West Virginia’s Hollywood Casino at Charlestown Races.
