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Celebrating A Legend

Isaac Burns Murphy (April 16, 1861 - February 12, 1896) was an African-American Hall of Fame jockey. The official Kentucky Derby website and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame say that "Isaac Murphy is considered one of the greatest race riders in American history."

Isaac Burns was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky. His father served in the Union army in the Civil War, until his death at Camp Nelson as a prisoner of war. After Burns' father's death, his family moved to Lexington, where they lived with Burns' grandfather, Green Murphy. When he became a jockey at age 14, he changed his last name to Murphy to honor his grandfather.

Mission

The Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden (IMMAG) is a community collaboration aimed at commemorating the lives, stories and contributions of African-American horse industry members from Lexington’s East End neighborhood.

President

David Cozart

Vice President

Thomas Tolliver

Secretary

Pat Gerhard

Treasurer

Tim Guthrie

Andy Barr

Dave Melanson

Emily Edgington

Graves Dickey

Jennifer Shah

Jim Embry

Keith Jones

Lee Helmers

Luella Pavey

Ex-Officio

Andrea James / Sarah Brown

Donations

IMMAG Board Members

Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden

c/o Blue Grass Community Foundation

250 West Main Street Suite 1220

Lexington, KY 40507

Help us commemorate the legacy of Isaac Murphy and others by making a donation of any size.

Events

IMMAG board meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

at Urban League: 148 DeWeese

Open to the public.

The University of Kentucky has helped launch a statewide literacy project with Isaac Murphy serving as the centerpiece for the initiative. The Isaac Murphy Everybody Reads Project was designed in cooperation with the UK College of Arts & Sciences and educators from around the Commonwealth as a statewide literacy project to coincide with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). The reading project will feature two books about Isaac Murphy: Patsi Trollinger’s children’s book, "Perfect Timing" and Frank X Walker’s new collection of poetry, "Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride.” Walker is an English Professor at UK.

The literacy initiative was launched on Saturday, Aug. 14, with a professional development training program at UK's Singletary Center for the Arts.

The Lexington Children’s Theater is producing a theatrical production of the Isaac Murphy story adapted from Walker’s book of poems as part of its fall season, Sept. 26-Oct. 3

Students taking part in the Carnegie Center's middle school summer program spent some time at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden on Monday, July 12, learning about the history of Isaac Murphy and other African-American jockeys who helped make Kentucky the horse capital of the world. The students will help design an outdoor gallery for IMMAG. For more information about the visit, click here.