CHAPTER XV. 

 The Noted Jockeys and Trainers. 



While America leads all other countries on the face of 

 the earth for her horses, she also leads in the class of her 

 jockeys. She has given to the turf many of the princes of 

 the saddle, and by their skill and intelligence they have re- 

 cently electrified all England and France. There was prob- 

 ably never a year in the world's history that this fact was so 

 exemplified as in the one just passed. 



Sloan, the Reiffs, Jenkins, Maher, Thorpe, Terrell, 

 Hamilton and a half dozen others are the wonder of the far 

 Eastern world. They have introduced a new style of riding 

 that the English, French, Australians, Russians, Austrians 

 and Germans do not understand, for it is entirely at variance 

 with all their established rules. Yet the system wins, and 

 now the English boys are being taught the method. In a 

 short time the American method will be adopted exclusively. 



Probably the greatest jockey this country ever produced 

 was Isaac Murphy. He was a brown-skinned negro lad, 

 born in Kentucky, and rode many great horses. His first 

 engagement was with the stable of Hunt Reynolds, who 

 lived near Frankfort, Ky. Johnson & Churchill next secured 

 his services, and he rode Ben d' Or, Little Ruffin and Sir 

 Joseph Hawley for them, winning the majority of his starts. 

 But with the string of Edward Corrigan, the " Master of 

 Hawthorne," he made his reputation. 



With him Murphy rode Modesty, the winner of the first 

 American Derby ; Freeland, who defeated the celebrated 

 Miss Woodford ; Riley and other good ones. Murphy was 

 noted for his honesty, and could always be depended upon 

 in any emergency. On one occasion, it is said, he was 

 asked to pull a horse. He firmly declined, and no amount 

 of money would tempt him to do wrong. " You will have 

 to get somebody else to ride your horses after this," he said, 

 and he could not be induced to ride for that man again. 

 There was never so good a judge of pace as Murphy. He 

 could tell within a fraction of a second just how fast he was 



