The Isaac Murphy Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 held annually in late June at Arlington Park

Arlington Park

Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...

 racetrack in a suburb of Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. The race is run on Polytrack

Polytrack

A synthetic racetrack surface is any kind of surface substance that replaces grass, dirt or sand as the racing surface on a horse racing track. Synthetic surfaces may be desirable over traditional surfaces for several reasons, most prominently the reduction of injuries and possible deaths to horses...

 synthetic dirt and is open to fillies

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

 and mares

Mare (horse)

A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...

, age three and older who were bred in the State of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

The race is named in honor of Isaac Burns Murphy

Isaac Burns Murphy

Isaac Burns Murphy was an African-American Hall of Fame jockey, who is considered one of the greatest riders in American Thoroughbred horse racing history. Murphy won three Kentucky Derbies.-Early life:...

, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 jockey whom the Hall says "is considered one of the greatest race riders in American history." Isaac Murphy raced in Chicago and won the city's then very prestigious American Derby

American Derby

The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at the city's old Washington Park race track and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed and the track demolished....

 on four occasions.

The race was run as the Isaac Murphy Memorial Handicap from its inception in 1976 through 1980. Inaugurated at a distance of 1⅛ miles on turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

, since then it has been contested at various distances on both turf and dirt:

On turf: 1976, 1991–1996

• 1⅛ miles : 1976
• 1¹/16 miles: 1991-1996

On dirt: 1977, 1980–1990, 1997 to present

• 6 furlongs : 1986, 1997 to present
• 7 furlongs : 1987-1990
• 1 mile : 1977, 1980–85
• 1⅛ miles : 1978-79

The race was restricted to three-year-old horses from 1980 through 1985 and again bewtween 1991 and 1994. For 1983 only, it was limited to colts and geldings only. There were no state-bred restrictions prior to 1980 nor during the period from 1986 through 1996.

There was no running of the Isaac Murphy Handicap in 1988, 1995, 1998 and 1999.

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of 6 furlongs)

• 1:08.00 - Taylor's Special (1986)

Most wins:

• 2 - Taylor's Special (1986, 1987)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• 2 - Earlie Fires
  Earlie Fires
  Earlie Stancel Fires is a retired United States' Racing Hall of Fame jockey.Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008 having won 6,470 races at racetracks across North America...
  
   (1981, 1992)
• 2 - Pat Day
  Pat Day
  Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
  
   (1986, 1987)
• 2 - Carlos Silva (1991, 2004)
• 2 - James Graham (2005, 2007)

Most wins by a trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

:

• 2 - William I. Mott (1986, 1987)

Most wins by an owner:

• 2 - William F. Lucas (1986, 1987)

Winners of the Isaac Murphy Handicap

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Wild Hope	4	Tanner Riggs	Frank J. Kirby	Gary & Beth Leverton	1:12.42
2010	Secret Kin	6	Jesus Castanon	Michael Stidham	Michael Stidham	1:11.32
2009	Nicks	5	James Graham	Christine Janks	Carson Springs Farm	1:10.62
2008	Magnetic Miss	4	Carlos Silva	Joseph E. Broussard	Richard Rudolph/Michael Vranich	1:09.78
2007	Modjadji	5	James Graham	Christine Janks	Arbaway Farm et al.	1:10.91
2006	Bluesbdancing	4	Eusebio Razo, Jr.	Terrel Gore	Bob & Nancy Bartels	1:10.26
2005	Jaguar City	5	James Graham	Frank R. Springer	Jaguar on the Run Stable	1:10.82
2004	Dharma Girl	5	Carlos Silva	Richard Hazelton	Ben Barnow	1:10.28
2003	Summer Mis	4	Larry Sterling, Jr.	Anthony Mitchell	Otto Stables Inc.	1:10.62
2002	Come September	6	Alfredo Juarez, Jr.	Joseph P. McKellar	L. J. Gaudreau/L. Gillen	1:10.64
2001	Rain Boots	4	Eduardo Perez	Tom Dorris	David Halfacher	1:11.20
2000	Capitol View	5	Christopher Emigh Christopher Emigh Christopher Alan Emigh is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He earned his first win as a professional at Evangeline Downs in 1989. The winner of more than 3,000 career races, he has won a riding title at Hawthorne Race Course seven times and at Arlington Park in 2006...	Ronald O. Goodridge	John Conforti	1:11.26
1999	no race
1998	no race
1997	Miss Delovely	4	Curt Bourque Curt Bourque Curt C. Bourque is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his riding career in 1984 at Evangeline Downs in Lafayette, Louisiana and won his first race later that year at Jefferson Downs Racetrack....	Harvey L. Vanier Harvey L. Vanier Harvey L. Vanier is a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. With his wife Nancy Aiken-Vanier, they own and breed racehorses on their Fairberry Farm in Waterloo, Illinois.-References:* *...	Nancy A. Vanier	1:11.26
1996	Lady Lodger	5	Ron Warren, Jr.	Brent Sumja	T. Webber, Jr.	1:41.55
1995	no race
1994	Star Campaigner	3	Aaron Gryder Aaron Gryder Aaron Tod Gryder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.Growing up fifteen minutes away from the Santa Anita racetrack, as a boy Gryder had no contact with horses other than his father and his grandparents' interest in attending the nearby races...	Louis Roussel III	Louis Roussel III	1:43.47
1993	Snake Eyes	3	Wigberto Ramos	Steve Morguelan	M. Isenstein	1:47.27
1992	Nijinsky's Gold	3	Earlie Fires Earlie Fires Earlie Stancel Fires is a retired United States' Racing Hall of Fame jockey.Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008 having won 6,470 races at racetracks across North America...	G. Romero	Stanton P. Powell	1:43.11
1991	Al Bing	3	Carlos Silva	Gene A. Cilio	Crown's Way Farm	1:43.58
1990	Beau Genius Beau Genius Beau Genius is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Bred at Sovereign Farm by owners Joseph Shiewitz and Dr. Brian Davidson, he was sired by Bold Ruckus, one of the leading sires in Canada who was a grandson of the extremely important North American Champion sire, Bold Ruler...	4	Ricardo Lopez	Gerald S. Bennett	Brian Davidson	1:21.40
1989	Carborundum	5	Jamie Bruin	Steve Penrod Steve Penrod Steve Penrod is a distinguished professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. His education and career have led him to become an expert in the areas of psychology and law. He has contributed heavily to the field of psychology in the area of eyewitness memory, specifically the...	Hermitage Farm	1:25.00
1988	no race
1987	Taylor's Special	6	Pat Day Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...	William I. Mott	William F. Lucas	1:22.00
1986	Taylor's Special	5	Pat Day Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...	William I. Mott	William F. Lucas	1:08.00
1985	Magic North	3	Gerland Gallitano	Rickey Harris	C. & T. Tribble	1:37.40
1984	Raja Native	3	Carlos Marquez	James Garrard	G. R. Bunn	1:36.60
1983	Le Cou Cou	3	Donald Howard	Jon Arnett	D. B. Clark	1:37.40
1982	Noted	3	Randy Romero Randy Romero Randy Paul Romero is a Hall of Fame jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing, Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J...	Herb Stevens	Preston W. Madden et al.	1:36.40
1981	Tri Crown	3	Earlie Fires Earlie Fires Earlie Stancel Fires is a retired United States' Racing Hall of Fame jockey.Fires began riding professionally in 1964 and led all American apprentices in wins that year with 224. He retired on September 21, 2008 having won 6,470 races at racetracks across North America...	B. Hickman	N. Cutlich	1:35.80
1980	Earlstone	3	Darrell Haire	J. Gural	Hickory Knoll Stable	1:36.80
1979	Hold Your Tricks	4	E. C. Aguirre	J. Johnson	Mabar Farm	1:48.40
1978	Romeo	5	H. Eddie Arroyo	Paul T. Adwell Paul T. Adwell Paul T. Adwell was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer best known for winning the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series in 1976....	M. L. Cashman	1:52.40
1977	Always Gallant	3	Eddie Delahoussaye Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana.He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins...	W. Smith	Joseph W. LaCroix	1:35.60
1976	Victorian Prince	6	Sandy Hawley Sandy Hawley Desmond Sanford "Sandy" Hawley, CM is a Hall of Fame jockey.Sandy Hawley started out as a plumber then later decided to be a jockey. He started his career as a jockey when he was a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking horses at a Toronto racetrack...	Michael Whittingham	Grovetree Stable	1:50.20