Again, I will reiterate what I (and others) said in earlier posts: go out in the field and work with wild snakes. They are most likely to give you an aggressive response than an animal that is used to your presence.

I have never owned a black racer, but I've encountered plenty of them in the wild. Most of these were between 4 and 5 feet and were pretty nasty. I don't know how much they relax (if at all) in captivity.

Have you ever owned a snake before?