DRF's Livingston donates Raftery photo archive to Keeneland Library

Barbara Livingtson, the longtime chief photographer for Daily Racing Form, has donated a photographic collection of the late Jim Raftery to the Keeneland Library in Lexington, Keeneland announced on Thursday.

The donation numbers an estimated two million photographic negatives weighing approximately 3,300 pounds, according to Keeneland, and it spans nearly 60 years of racing history, from the late 1930s to the early 1990s. Livingston acquired Raftery’s collection from his estate in 2020.

“We are incredibly grateful to Barbara for placing this incomparable historic industry asset in our care,” said Roda Ferraro, the director of the Keeneland Library. “The Raftery [collection] is the largest gifted still image acquisition in Keeneland Library history, and we are honored to preserve Jim Raftery’s legacy for future generations of researchers, writers, and racing fans.”

:: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.

Raftery galloped and rode racehorses while growing up, but his vocation soon turned to photography. After serving in World War II, he became the track photographer for Hialeah Park, and became a well-known figure at tracks across the Eastern seaboard. He died at the age of 79 in 1994.

“Jim Raftery was among the all-time great racing photographers,” said Livingston, who has won six Eclipse Awards for her photographic and visual art. “He was stunningly prolific and a character to boot. I gave the majority of negatives and slides to the Keeneland library because they will provide the collection a safe haven.”

Keeneland began processing the collection in January, providing the negatives with identification numbers and identifying data for a searchable database. The negatives will be digitized, and the originals will be housed in the Library’s climate-controlled vault, Keeneland said.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.