From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Shelbourne, Lisa C.
(born: September 2, 1966) In September of 2002, Lisa C. Shelbourne became the only woman to work inside the Keeneland sales ring. She wore the green jacket. Keeneland is located in Lexington, KY. The racetrack opened in October of 1936. Keeneland has the largest thoroughbred auction houses in the world. The sales are held in January, September, and November of each year. An interview/biographhy of her many years of working with horses is published in The Story of Midway, Kentucky: African American Heritage Series, no.1, June 2021, by Midway Museum, pp.98-99. Learn more about Keeneland at the Keeneland webpage.
There are highlights of Shelbourne's career in issues of racing publications and in Kentucky newspapers. While a groom for the Vinery Horse Farm in Woodford County, KY, Shelbourne was photographed with a colt during the Yearling Sale at Keeneland. The photo was taken by photographer Stewart Bowman and published in the Courier-Journal with the title "Cheek to nose" on September 15, 1995, p.1. A decade later, there is a photograph of Shelbourne in the Keeneland sales ring. The photo was taken by photographer Jamie Rhodes and published in the Courier-Journal on September 14, 2005, p.A1 with the title "Colt brings $9.7 million at Keeneland."
Lisa C. Shelbourne was born in Lexington, KY, and grew up in Midway, KY.