Isaac Burns Murphy, Repeated Kentucky Derby Winner
As a rider, Isaac Burns Murphy developed a unique style sitting upright in the saddle and using his words and occasionally his spurs to urge the horse on instead of the whip. Instead of riding the horse as hard as possible, he would develop a race strategy, pacing the horse through the field before moving into a favorable position to burst in front at the finish line ... Official records are incomplete, but later calculations record he had 539 wins in 1,538 rides, still an unprecedented 34-percent winning rate. At the height of his career, Murphy was averaging $15,000 a year, excluding bonuses, making him the highest-paid jockey in the United States at that time. This success allowed him to live comfortably in a large estate in Lexington, invest in real estate and own his own race horse.
In one his most storied contests, on June 25, 1890, Murphy raced against white jockey Ed “Snapper” Garrison to determine who was the better jockey. In an atmosphere of Jim Crow segregation and exclusion for many blacks, the race took on clear racial overtones. Murphy won in a close finish, which further divided the horse-racing community.
Two months later, Murphy competed at the Monmouth Handicap, in New Jersey. He performed poorly during the race and at the post-race inspection he fell off his mount. Suspected of being drunk, he was suspended for 30 days, though intoxication was never proven. Later investigations indicated that he may have been poisoned.
