Murphy, Isaac Burns

Isaac Burns Murphy, (born 1861, Fayette county, Kentucky, U.S.—died February 12, 1896, Lexington, Kentucky), American jockey who was the first to be elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. Although Murphy’s career winning percentage is disputed, neither of the figures cited—racing records show 34.5 percent, while Murphy claimed 44 percent—has been equaled in American horse racing.

Murphy was born to free Black parents. He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, where his mother had moved the family after his father, a Union soldier in the Civil War, had died in a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. Murphy began racing in 1875 and was one of the first jockeys to pace his mount for a charge down the homestretch—a technique soon described as the “grandstand finish.” He rode upright and urged his mounts on with words and a spur rather than the whip. His win of the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Springs in 1879 catapulted him to national fame.

Murphy rode in the Kentucky Derby 11 times and was the first three-time winner of the race (1884, 1890, and 1891). He also was the first jockey to win successive Derby crowns. In 1884 he won the first American Derby in Chicago, the most-prestigious race of the era; he won it again in 1885, 1886, and 1888. With his success, Murphy became one of the highest-paid athletes in the United States. Also notable was his victory in a match race against Edward (“Snapper”) Garrison in June 1890; the race was among the most-talked-about of its time, not least because it pitted the era’s best Black jockey in America, Murphy, against the best white one, Garrison. Two months later, however, Murphy became mired in controversy. After a poor showing at a race in Monmouth, New Jersey, Murphy seemed unsteady on his feet, leading to speculation that he had been drinking. He denied the charge and claimed that he had been drugged. However, rumours of a drinking problem persisted. Murphy began competing less, and his final race was in 1895. He died of pneumonia the following year.

Murphy’s career waned at a time when participation by African Americans in American horse racing was declining as a result of racial discrimination. His accomplishments were often framed in racial terms: some sportswriters referred to him as the “colored Archer” in reference to Murphy’s contemporary Frederick Archer, an English champion jockey, while others suggested that Archer should instead be referred to as the “white Murphy.” After World War I Murphy’s career and those of other Black jockeys (such as Willie Simms and James Winkfield) were largely overlooked until the mid-20th century.