The Isaac Murphy Award is an American honor presented annually since 1995 by the

National Turf Writers Association The National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) is an American association of journalists, columnists and other writers involved with reporting on the horse racing industry. The organization was founded by prominent sports writer Joe Hirsch who serv ...

of the United States to the

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

with the highest winning percentage who has ridden in a minimum of 500 races during the year. The award is named in honor of

Isaac Murphy Isaac Murphy (October 16, 1799 or 1802 – September 8, 1882)Every Arkansas reference says that he was born in 1799; most other sources, including genealogical studies, say he was born in 1802. was a native of Pennsylvania, a teacher and law ...

, a 19th-century

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

jockey. Since its inception, Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze has won it every year except for 2004, when he placed second.
Isaac Murphy Award. Accessed February 13, 2011. Past winners: *1995 :

Russell Baze Russell Avery Baze (born 7 August 1958 ) is a retired Canadian-American Thoroughbred horse race, horse racing jockey. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the National Museum of Ra ...

*1996 : Russell Baze *1997 : Russell Baze *1998 : Russell Baze *1999 : Russell Baze *2000 : Russell Baze *2001 : Russell Baze *2002 : Russell Baze *2003 : Russell Baze *2004 : Ramon Dominguez *2005 : Russell Baze *2006 : Russell Baze *2007 : Russell Baze *2008 : Russell Baze

References

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External links

Turfwriters.org news
Horse racing awards American horse racing awards