The Prince of Jockeys

by Pellom McDaniels III

  Many believed that if Murphy had not been ill, Freeland would have won the race, which may have been true. However, the astute Murphy claimed otherwise. In an interview after the race, the professional jockey remarked that he “had told them they were running the horse too soon after the other race.”113 It is likely that Murphy and Corrigan had a confrontation over the match race. Murphy thought he knew what was best for Freeland and thus challenged Corrigan's position not only as his employer but also as a white man, perhaps receiving a public rebuke for his audacity. It is also possible that Murphy learned of a scheme to support heavy betting against the tired Freeland, whose prior victories would have increased the betting pool against Miss Woodford. Any of these situations would have angered Murphy, who valued his reputation more than anything. Whatever it was that drove a wedge between Murphy and Corrigan, Isaac decided to solidify his future employment and signed with Baldwin.

  Public opinion was against Murphy. One article labeled his decision to leave Corrigan as “a moment of pique [more] than anything else.” It described Murphy as “an ignorant fellow, [who] knows very little outside of riding horses, and has an intensely good opinion of himself.”114 The writer seemed to be saying that Isaac knew nothing of the real world and had become uppity due to his success in the saddle. Depicting a black man as irrational, emotional, and uneducated was not unusual for the period, but it was the first time such a description had been applied to the well-paid, highly sought after Isaac Murphy, whose reputation as a proven professional and an “elegant specimen of manhood” resonated with some of horse racing's most important supporters. Later, it would be reported that Freeland's ankles were, in fact, “swollen and somewhat stiff, and no one who saw him in repose would hail him as the champion of the West and the superior in speed of any horse from Canada to the Rio Grande.”115 Isaac may have been right about Freeland's readiness to race, but Corrigan had treated him like an employee whose sole purpose was to ride when and how he was told to—a relationship Murphy wanted no part of.

  Because of the controversy surrounding the race, and wanting to prove that their horse was no fluke, the Dwyer brothers challenged Corrigan to another race for $20,000 a side ($435,000 in today's dollars). As soon as the arrangements were agreed on, Corrigan telegraphed Murphy, who had gone to St. Louis to ride at the fall meeting, requesting that he return to New York in time to ride Freeland in the September 14 race.116 Murphy was still under contract to Corrigan, but he was responsible for paying own expenses for accommodations and transportation. Thus, Isaac could either ride in the race or face the consequences of breaching his contract, which could have led to him being banned from racing altogether.117 He chose to ride. The race would take place at the Dwyers' home course in Brooklyn, the Brighton Beach Race Track. Historian Steven A. Reiss suggests that in the mid- to late 1880s, Brighton Beach attracted a crowd that could be described as “rag-tag and riff-raff” due to the immigrant, impoverished, and corrupt nature of those “betting all they are worth on every race.”118 Once again, James McLaughlin would ride Miss Woodford against Murphy on Freeland. The two jockeys had developed a healthy professional rivalry over the course of their careers. Murphy had won two of the three races between Freeland and Miss Woodford, and he was clearly the favorite of African Americans because of his success and achievement in the saddle and out. The Irishman McLaughlin was the pride of the swelling immigrant population seeking acceptance and participation in American society.

  Fortunately for Murphy, the fourth and final race proved that he was right about the capabilities of a healthy Freeland. The Times Picayune described the contest after Miss Woodford and Freeland separated from the competition and made the final turn before the finish line: “And here the real struggle began. Miss Woodford increased her lead to three parts of a length at the three quarters, but Freeland then went to the front without an apparent effort on the part of Murphy. Amidst a mighty roar of applause from the spectators, Freeland moved out and won in a very easy style by four lengths, Miss Woodford second, three lengths in front of Modesty.”119 Murphy's only complaint might have been that Freeland's three out of four wins over Miss Woodford were attributed solely to the quality of the horse and not the intellect of the jockey.

  One might think jockeys would be accustomed to being in the background, since the owners took credit when the horses won and blamed the jockeys when they lost. But we can assume that this situation, among others, fed Murphy's desire to create his own stable and be his own man. To do so, however, he would need capital. As far as wins among jockeys, Isaac was well ahead of the curve. In 1885 the top thirty-one jockeys averaged 145.9 mounts with 27.7 wins, for a total winning record of 19 percent. In contrast, Isaac Murphy won 56 of 146 races, or 38 percent, compiling the best record by far. At the end of the 1885 season, he was hoping to secure his future with the help of E. J. Baldwin's vast California empire.

  Into the West and Beyond

  In early April 1886 Isaac and Lucy left Lexington and headed for Kansas City, where they would board a westbound train for California. E. J. Baldwin's Santa Anita farm was situated on more than 20,000 acres of fertile land in the San Gabriel Valley. Up until that point, the Murphys had ventured only to the cities of the Midwest and Northeast. The journey to Denver, Colorado, before heading through the Rocky Mountains and into the Mormon stronghold of Provo, Utah, must have been exciting for the two Kentucky-born travelers, who were seeing the open skies of the Far West for the first time. The trip to the West Coast also opened up other possibilities, including interactions with people of Chinese, Mexican, and Native American origins. When they arrived at the Merced train depot in northern California on April 19, the Murphys were within a day's journey of the Baldwin ranch in the southern part of the state.120

  Arriving at their final destination sometime on the afternoon on the twentieth, Isaac and Lucy might have been met by John Isaac Wesley Fisher, a black man whom Baldwin had hired to recruit black labor from the South, especially North Carolina. In January, Fisher had traveled to the Southeast hoping to entice a variety of workers to return to California with him and take advantage of the opportunity to labor and live free from Southern race hatred. On the trip back to Baldwin's ranch, Fisher had sixty men, women, and children in tow. Baldwin employed the Southern transplants in his stables as “trainers, jockeys, exercisers, coachmen and laborers” and provided for all their needs. In some ways, the arrangement was no different from sharecropping, although in a more civilized environment, since the nature of horse racing in the West was an extension of the wealth and character of the men who had amassed their vast fortunes overnight. This is not to say that Baldwin did not take advantage of his workers, but in California, blacks were less likely to be abused than Chinese or Mexicans.

  Traveling through land owned by Baldwin, who was also a major shareholder of the Santa Fe Railroad, the Murphys arrived at the temporary train station being used until the Santa Anita station could be completed. Stepping off the train, they could not help but look north and northeast at the Sierra Madres looming over the valley, like a giant reminder of a world still to be explored and understood. Writer Charles E. Blanchett, who visited Baldwin's ranch only weeks before the Murphys arrived, described his arrival:

  A night's ride from San Francisco on the Southern Pacific R.R. brought me to Savannah, a Spanish settlement fourteen miles south of Los Angeles. I found a conveyance waiting for me, and we soon started for the villa. About 200 yards drive brought us to the outskirts of the Lucky Baldwin Ranch, as it is generally called, and it was fully an hour's brisk driving before we reached the main avenue leading up to the palatial residence, the entire ride covering the lands of the California Croesus. This avenue is laid out in the center of an orange grove, stretching across an area of several hundred acres, and this immense, prolific orchard comprises over 14,000 trees, all bearing fruit and most of them so heavily laden they require propping. I was informed that two carloads of the bright golden fruit had been gathered the day be
fore that had fallen to the ground. Of the 26,000 acres comprising this ranch 16,500 is under cultivation. Standing upon the porch overlooking this area, as far as the eye can reach one sees orchards of oranges, lemons, limes, English walnuts and almonds, with a scattering here and there, in uniform rows, of the eucalyptus, pepper and spice trees. Passing around to the other side of the porch one sees, under the shadow of the Sierra Madres, an immense vineyard covering 800 acres.121

  Blanchett also noted the presence of more than “fifty houses on the ranch, including a large store and warehouse, nine vaults and packing houses, a saw mill, stables for the draught horses, boarding and lodging houses, and a neat and comfortable school house” for the children of employees.122 Baldwin had created his own town dedicated to his interests in horses, agriculture, and transportation.

  Lucy may have befriended some of the women working on the farm, and she may have even helped teach the children their lessons. She may have talked to them about her travels to other parts of the country: New York, Chicago, Nashville. It is possible that Lucy inspired some of the young girls and women to dream about the world beyond the lush San Gabriel Valley, perhaps sowing seeds of discontent among them. In her own way, she may have encouraged those trapped on the farm to flee as far as the train tracks would carry them.

  Besides the acres and acres of fruit and nut trees, Isaac would have been impressed by the “stock raising district” at the western boundary of the farm, with its newly built “one mile track complete in every detail, judges' and grand stand, private boxes, etc.”123 Baldwin's horses—some bred right there at Santa Anita and others imported from farms in the Bluegrass—were distinguished by their pedigrees. The great horse Lexington's blood flowed in some of the animals stamping and snorting on the Santa Anita ranch. And chances are good that Isaac had ridden many of the horses that had sired Baldwin's Thoroughbreds.

  In 1874 Baldwin had purchased two Kentucky stallions, Grinstead and Rutherford, both of which became champions. Baldwin was accustomed to buying a dozen horses from the Bluegrass State in a single season and shipping them back to his California base to develop his own quality racehorses for running and breeding. Kentucky farmers, whose coffers were not as deep and whose investments were limited to local land and local horses, could not compete. Jack Chinn, a Kentucky horse farmer, commented that his reason for selling his operation and quitting the Bluegrass tradition was an inability to compete with the “rich fellows from California” who come to Kentucky and buy dozens of colts at a time, not knowing which ones will turn out to be great. According to Chinn, “It's different with us fellows that haven't got millions. We have to buy one, two or three colts, and if they don't turn out good our money is gone.”124 Owners like Baldwin, Corrigan, Lorillard, and the Dwyer brothers overwhelmed, if not eliminated, the competition.

  Why Isaac and Lucy made the trip to California is unclear. They could have just met the Baldwin stable in Louisville for the spring races, where Isaac could have become accustomed to the horses and their temperaments within a week or so. However, in line with Baldwin's desire to win and prove his worth in the East, he was determined to have an edge over the competition, which meant not only the best horses but also the best jockeys. He may have been a gambler, but he did not like to throw money away. In addition to wanting Isaac to get to know his horses, Baldwin probably asked Murphy to help train apprentice jockeys, who would be available to ride for Baldwin's stable once Isaac's contract was up. Isaac chose to “teach E. J.'s stable workers to ride” races following the same techniques used by Eli Jordan and mentor William Walker.125 Among the successful jockeys tutored by Isaac who would wear Baldwin's racing colors of black with a red Maltese cross were Si McClain, Pike Barnes, and Willie Van Buren. However, it also makes sense that Baldwin just wanted Isaac to see his impressive ranch and the opportunities available if he became part of the Baldwin empire.

  After only a week or ten days at Santa Anita, the Murphys headed back to Lexington, where the Kentucky Association meeting on Isaac's home track was scheduled to begin on May 5. Despite the short stay, it was apparently long enough for Murphy to familiarize himself with Baldwin's horses. Getting to know them as individuals, learning how they ran at different times of day or on an empty stomach, and feeling how they responded to his requests through the reins and by his body language were all vital to success. It was equally important for each horse to become accustomed to the jockey's personality, style of riding, whisperings of encouragement, and occasional spur in the sides. Whatever Murphy accomplished during his trip to Santa Anita, it paid off, given his successful 1886 season on Volante, Silver Cloud, Lucky B, and Solid Silver.

  For the most part, Isaac rode well at the Kentucky Association meeting, but his debut as Baldwin's contract rider at Louisville set the tempo for the 1886 season and beyond. Upon their arrival in Louisville, Isaac and Lucy, along with trainer Abraham Perry and his wife Clara, were the guests of Mrs. Sadonia Wrightson, who resided at 191 Madison Street near Twelfth Street.126 One possible connection between the Murphys and the Wrightsons was that Horace Wrightson, a porter at Von Borries and Company, was a prominent member of Louisville's African American community and an officer of Southern Cross Lodge Number 39 of the Prince Hall Masons. We do not know whether Abe Perry was a member of the Prince Hall Masons, but Isaac was initiated into the Lincoln Lodge Masons in Lexington in 1891. It seems plausible that members of Lexington's elite black community would have provided Isaac, a favorite son, with introductions to men like Wrightson, who were prominent members of their own communities and would happily extend their hospitality to the Murphys. These kinds of relationships were part of an active network maintained by African Americans to uplift the race. Murphy was recognized as a professional man who had achieved success based on his adherence to nineteenth-century notions of manhood connected to muscular Christianity. Murphy's achievements marked the progress of African Americans in “their march toward greater self-esteem and legitimate recognition.”127

  On May 14, the first day of the Louisville meeting, the weather was cloudy and hot, but even the threat of rain could not deter the 10,000 fans from crowding the stands and the infield, which could accommodate both wagons and people on foot. Lucy Murphy and Clara Perry watched anxiously for their husbands to appear with their prized horses. Unfortunately for Isaac Murphy, this year's Kentucky Derby would not go his way. The winning owner would be another Californian, J. B. Haggin, whose Ben Ali ran away with the prize. Isaac finished fifth on Baldwin's bay colt Lijero, most likely because the horse was carrying an extra 6 to 8 pounds due to Murphy's current weight at or near 120 pounds. Because of this hindrance, Isaac probably did not punish the horse for not running well; he simply used the opportunity to gauge the colt's strengths and weaknesses, while pushing him to finish the race. To horse-racing fans and gamblers hoping to double or quadruple their money, Murphy's loss must have been a disappointment. Fortunately, the well-paid jockey (Baldwin was paying him $6,000 for the 1886 season) was able to redeem himself by winning the Dixiana Handicap for three-year-olds on Baldwin's Lucky B, paying $1,765; the Free Handicap Sweepstakes on Volante, for $800; and the Louisville Cup on Lucky B, for $1,270 in prize money. He would also go on to win the Fleetwood Handicap, named after the farm of J. W. Hunt-Reynolds, which may have been an emotional moment for Isaac, given his relationship with that late gentleman of the turf. Other victories included several purse races for different owners and the Turf Stakes on Corrigan's Modesty.

  Historians have overlooked the fact that having Lucy travel with him gave Murphy a stability that added to his success. Indeed, it seems that his strong bond with his wife gave Isaac a grounded approach to everyday situations, allowed him to concentrate on his work, and helped him maintain his identity. Together, they explored the different cities they visited, spending time with old and new friends and with family connected by blood or by history. From Lexington to Kansas City, Chicago to New York, the Murphys experienced the joys and disappointments of a
sport that required not only a strong mind and body but also, based on Isaac and Lucy's example, emotional support and companionship. Lucy helped her husband avoid the temptations present at every turn and the adoring fans willing to stroke a winner's ego. Isaac knew that celebrity could ruin a promising career, and for his part, Murphy rarely failed to perform as expected.

  It is possible that the turning point in Murphy's career—and therefore in the careers of all black jockeys—happened during the Washington Park meeting in Chicago after he won the mile-and-a-half American Derby on Baldwin's Silver Cloud. The bay colt was not even expected to finish in the money, but Murphy and Silver Cloud won by three lengths over a strong field that included Kentucky Derby winner Ben Ali and the highly capable Blue Wing. According to the Live Stock Record, “No part of the race was fast except the first and second quarters,” which meant it was a waiting race—exactly the kind of race Murphy usually dominated because he had the patience to look for openings and take advantage of them when other jockeys tended to lose their concentration. Indeed, after the bunched-up field passed the halfway point, Murphy shot away on Silver Cloud and “opened up a gap of three lengths to the head of the stretch,” leaving the rest of the field behind.128