Longtime Midwest racing official Daryl E. Parker, the first African-American to serve as a steward in U.S. racing history and the father of jockey Deshawn Parker, died March 4 in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.
"I'm sad to let everybody in the Twitter and racing world know that I lost my dad, Daryl E. Parker, last night. He fought a long battle with cancer that took his life. He's going to be missed but never forgotten! He was loved by everybody that knew him. He was a great man!" Deshawn Parker posted on his social media account March 5.
Daryl Parker most recently worked as a steward in Ohio at Thistledown and Hollywood Casino at Mahoning Valley Race Course until last year when he was forced to step away to undergo treatment for cancer, Deshawn Parker said in a Thoroughbred Daily News profile of the three-time national leading jockey published in June 2020.
Deshawn Parker, 49, grew up around the old Latonia Park, now Turfway Park, with his father. The elder Parker spent many decades on the racetrack, during which he also worked as an exercise rider, pony person, and jockey agent prior to becoming a racing official.
In 1986 he was hired by Thistledown management as a steward, becoming the first Black person in that position and the second Black racing official in the country. The Randall, Ohio, track had hired Charles Reed as the country's first Black racing secretary in 1964, according to archives.
Daryl Parker, who had been hospitalized at the time of his death, was a steward at all the Ohio tracks and in Michigan, and previously held various positions in the racing offices at Fairmount Park and the now-defunct Cahokia Downs in Southern Illinois.
"If you look up the definition of 'class act' in the dictionary, Daryl's photo would be there. He always went about his business in a professional manner and lived his life surrounded by a positive outlook. In Deshawn, you can see that the apple did not fall far from the tree," said John Engelhardt, a former Ohio track publicist.
"My idol, my best friend, and a great father! He meant so much to my life and my career I can only hope to be as great as he was," tweeted Deshawn Parker.
As condolences were posted on his social media account the jockey tweeted, "I'm going to miss my Dad so much, but I know he's in a better place with no pain and living his life to the fullest up there hanging with friends and family talking up a storm! Until we meet again ... I Love You Daddy."
