This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Danielle Betts: Next up on Destination Freedom, Hot Springs in April, Lexington, Louisville, Illinois, Michigan, California, and Maryland, New York and New Mexico.

[0:08] Danielle Betts: Won the American Derby four times.

[0:11] Danielle Betts: Then Kentucky Derby three times.

[0:13] Danielle Betts: Went out to Saratoga, accepted 50 mounts, and coached 49 winners across the finish line.

[0:19] Danielle Betts: Threw away his whip in all attendants and dropped his spurs in Washington Park.

[0:23] Danielle Betts: Retired after having accepted 1,412 mounts and winning 628 races.

[0:29] Danielle Betts: Never crossed the track to the cemetery.

[0:31] Danielle Betts: I saw the grave diggers again and to the thundercrack that day in May.

[0:44] Danielle Betts: Welcome to Destination Freedom Black Radio Days Podcast, a copyrighted program of No Credits Productions LLC.

[0:51] Danielle Betts: I'm producer director Danielle Betts.

[0:54] Danielle Betts: The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday of May every year.

[0:58] Danielle Betts: Folks may be familiar with the fine clothes, big hats, and of course the fast horses.

[1:03] Danielle Betts: But did you know the first 10 winners of the Derby were Black?

[1:06] Danielle Betts: The first three-time winner was Isaac Murphy.

[1:09] Danielle Betts: Many considered Murphy the greatest American jockey of all time.

[1:13] Danielle Betts: By his own account, Murphy won 44% of his races.

[1:16] Danielle Betts: Now racing historians only verified 34.5% from that era, but it's likely that some of Murphy's races were not documented.

[1:24] Danielle Betts: Either way, Murphy set a standard that no other jockey has come close to matching.

[1:29] Danielle Betts: Murphy was the first jockey inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1956.

[1:35] Danielle Betts: Destination Freedom Black Radio Days opens up its archive to share with you the story of Isaac Murphy.

[1:42] Danielle Betts: Next up on Destination Freedom Black Radio Days, one of my favorite audio dramas from our series, The Grave Diggers's Handicap.

[1:50] Danielle Betts: The story of Isaac Murphy.

[1:56] Danielle Betts: Destination Freedom.

[1:58] ♪ Musical number: "Ooh, Freedom" — performed by Unknown performer ♪

[2:55] Danielle Betts: The ancient sport of horse racing has been richer with tales, legends, and popular idols than any sport of mankind.

[3:04] Danielle Betts: Foremost among America's heroes of the turf is the nineteenth century jockey Isaac Murphy, one of the most fabulous horsemen in racetrack history.

[3:15] Danielle Betts: In a chapter titled The Gravedigger's Handicap, Destination Freedom presents Murphy's saga.

[3:31] Danielle Betts: Giddy up, honey, get him up.

[3:35] Danielle Betts: Give him up, honey, get up.

[3:48] Danielle Betts: When the wind's wild, the thumbnails rolling.

[3:52] Danielle Betts: Grave diggers in Kentucky say the sky's just a six-furlong track.

[3:56] Danielle Betts: The lightning is little Isaac Murphy's white shirt flying in the wind.

[4:00] Danielle Betts: And the thunder, the sound of his horse romping home.

[4:04] Danielle Betts: And an old number two cemetery out from Lexington on Hoffman Mill Road.

[4:10] Danielle Betts: The grave diggers shoulder their shovels and turn toward a stone marked jockey Isaac.

[4:16] Danielle Betts: As if the lightning strikes again.

[4:19] Danielle Betts: They squint up at the sky as if they're watching for old Isaac coming down the stretch.

[4:25] Danielle Betts: Laying flat on the neck of the flying horse, hugging the rail and calling out that call of his.

[5:24] Unknown speaker: Knocked on his mahogany door.

[5:29] Unknown speaker: Stood a while before Isaac's wife decided to open it.

[5:35] Unknown speaker: You gentlemen looking for something?

[5:38] Unknown speaker: Only what's due to us, ma'am.

[5:40] Unknown speaker: Did my husband hire y'all for something?

[5:42] Unknown speaker: Oh no, we've come to hire him.

[5:44] Unknown speaker: You are for what?

[5:46] Unknown speaker: Now now, my sweet young thing. What has the world used Isaac for?

[5:51] Unknown speaker: Well, if it's horse racing you want him for, then he's a—

[5:51] Unknown speaker: Yeah, that's what it is, my dear. You should know Isaac's been retired five years now.

[5:59] Unknown speaker: Well then it's high time he came out of it.

[6:01] Unknown speaker: And he's very low sick and under the doctor's care.

[6:04] Unknown speaker: He was asked last week by the governor to ride his thoroughbred, and you know if he won't jockey for the governor, there's no one he'll jockey for.

[6:11] Unknown speaker: Except us, my dear.

[6:13] Unknown speaker: Why? Who are you?

[6:14] Unknown speaker: We are the grave diggers.

[6:19] Unknown speaker: Now now Isaac's low sick. You can't be joking with him this way. Go on along, please.

[6:25] Unknown speaker: Maybe I'll let him stay.

[6:26] Unknown speaker: Now, Isaac, you get back in bed.

[6:28] Unknown speaker: The doctor said—

[6:28] Isaac Murphy: I know what the doctor said, Maybell. I want to talk to these men.

[6:32] Unknown speaker: You go inside. They said something about racing, Isaac.

[6:36] Unknown speaker: I told them you couldn't.

[6:37] Isaac Murphy: Maybe if you don't mind.

[6:40] Unknown speaker: Well we'll talk alone.

[6:42] Isaac Murphy: All right, but you know what the doctor said, Isaac.

[6:46] Unknown speaker: As soon as the jockey's wife was out of sight, the gravediggers looked squarely at Isaac.

[6:52] Unknown speaker: And he shivered, as though standing in a draught, and asked.

[6:57] Isaac Murphy: When is the race?

[6:58] Unknown speaker: This noon.

[6:59] Unknown speaker: The banker's handicapped.

[7:01] Unknown speaker: You've entered your horse.

[7:02] Unknown speaker: She's in the stables.

[7:03] Unknown speaker: What's her name?

[7:04] Isaac Murphy: Broomstick.

[7:06] Unknown speaker: Well, what are the odds?

[7:07] Unknown speaker: Hundred to one.

[7:09] Isaac Murphy: Hundred to one.

[7:11] Unknown speaker: When's the last time Broomstick won a race?

[7:13] Isaac Murphy: Who knows? But just think. It's a hundred to one shot.

[7:15] Unknown speaker: Every grave digger in the cemetery's got his savings on it.

[7:20] Unknown speaker: If you ride.

[7:21] Isaac Murphy: You know I never believed in betting.

[7:23] Unknown speaker: Well, we don't believe in working in the cemetery for the rest of our days either.

[7:27] Unknown speaker: Not when a hundred to one shot can slip through the handicap.

[7:31] Unknown speaker: If she's handled by a master, it'll give us enough of a stake to save us from a gravedigger's life.

[7:39] Isaac Murphy: I haven't been in the saddle in five years, and it's true.

[7:41] Isaac Murphy: You see, it's true. I I'm not well, I'm weak.

[7:45] Unknown speaker: You mean you won't ride to pull us out of the graveyard?

[7:49] Unknown speaker: We pushed you out of it.

[7:51] Isaac Murphy: My insides feel like someone's burning candles in my stomach, I'm sad.

[7:54] Unknown speaker: And so are we. But we kept on digging graves while you've gone ahead and built a mansion.

[8:00] Unknown speaker: Now, what about our bargain?

[8:02] Isaac Murphy: What about it?

[8:03] Unknown speaker: All right, all right, you're right. We have a bargain.

[8:06] Unknown speaker: Well, of course, if you've lost your touch with horses, I mean if you're just another jockey.

[8:12] Isaac Murphy: I don't need to be agitated into the saddle, Eli. We made a bargain.

[8:14] Isaac Murphy: I'll keep it. I'm gonna do what the spirit says to.

[8:28] Unknown speaker: They say a bargain made with a gravedigger is one few can break.

[8:32] Unknown speaker: The fabulous jockey looked at the gravedigger as he spoke, then looked at the slackened rain, and saw the track would be muddy.

[8:40] Unknown speaker: The spokesman for the delegation, Eli Bender, grave digger and ex-jockey, looked over Isaac Murphy just as he had 15 years before.

[8:50] Unknown speaker: Only that time Eli was standing in a poor Kentucky farmyard, talking to a small, sad woman, and looking over a family of five boys to see which one would make the best grave digger's apprentice.

[9:07] Eli Bender: Well, well, well, Miss Murphy. Five fine boys you have.

[9:13] Eli Bender: Five fine boys. Let's see here now. Which one would be best suited for cemetery work?

[9:20] Miss Murphy: Fred over there is my oldest. He's a nice quiet boy.

[9:22] Eli Bender: Fred's a little too grave for cemetery work.

[9:28] Miss Murphy: There's Sidney. He's steady, strong, too.

[9:31] Eli Bender: No, no. Sidney said he was afraid of ghosts, and well, you know.

[9:36] Eli Bender: Just what do you have in mind for my boys to be doing?

[9:39] Eli Bender: Oh, dig a little, plant a little, carry some tombstones.

[9:44] Eli Bender: I want one who's sort of good at measuring everybody.

[9:47] Eli Bender: And say now, who's that over there with that horse?

[9:51] Miss Murphy: Oh, that's Isaac.

[9:53] Unknown speaker: I can tell the wind is running.

[9:56] Unknown speaker: I'm about to leave shaking on the tree.

[9:59] Unknown speaker: I can tell the wind is running.

[10:03] Unknown speaker: I'm about to leave shaking on the tree.

[10:06] Unknown speaker: All I need is my little horse to keep my company.

[10:14] Unknown speaker: They say the grave diggers forgot the five big boys standing in front of him and watched a tall, sprawny lad walk into the yard.

[10:22] Unknown speaker: His mouth close to a horse's ear.

[10:25] Unknown speaker: And the horse was walking alongside him like a man.

[10:28] Unknown speaker: Like he only had two legs instead of four.

[10:31] Unknown speaker: Like he was in love with the boy's voice.

[10:33] Unknown speaker: And had taught the boy his language.

[10:35] Unknown speaker: And loved to hear him humming.

[10:39] Miss Murphy: Is he one of your boys?

[10:43] Unknown speaker: He's my youngest, Isaac.

[10:46] Unknown speaker: I'll take him.

[10:47] Isaac Murphy: For work in a cemetery?

[10:49] Unknown speaker: Yes, sir.

[10:50] Unknown speaker: I thought you wanted someone who could lift tombstones and dig ditches.

[10:54] Unknown speaker: You know how much Isaac weighs?

[10:56] Unknown speaker: Not an ounce over 70 pounds.

[10:58] Unknown speaker: That's right.

[10:59] Unknown speaker: Can I have him?

[11:01] Unknown speaker: Well, he's never been away from home.

[11:03] Unknown speaker: I see that the cemetery superintendent pays twice the apprentice fee.

[11:07] Unknown speaker: I can't.

[11:08] Unknown speaker: Three times the fee.

[11:09] Unknown speaker: Your family could use the money, Mrs. Murphy. It's a great opportunity.

[11:13] Unknown speaker: Call him over, please.

[11:15] Isaac Murphy: I'm coming, Ma.

[11:20] Unknown speaker: Oh Lord. One in a thousand. One in a thousand.

[11:24] Unknown speaker: Now, does he get along with most horses like that?

[11:28] Unknown speaker: I hoped you wouldn't notice that.

[11:30] Unknown speaker: There's something strange between him and that horse.

[11:33] Isaac Murphy: You call me, Ma.

[11:35] Unknown speaker: Isaac. Mr. Eli here wants you to be an apprentice over at the Lexington Cemeteries.

[11:40] Unknown speaker: You'll be near beautiful flowers, green grass, quiet surroundings.

[11:45] Unknown speaker: Is that so?

[11:46] Unknown speaker: And just a few acres or so away from us is the Lexington racetrack. And whenever they're running, all you got to do is just stand up on a tombstone and you can see right over into the track.

[11:57] Unknown speaker: Is that so? Your pay will be a big help to your mother, and at the same time, you'll be learning something you can uh it'll be useful.

[12:06] Isaac Murphy: Well, Ma, it's all right with me. That is if I can take honey.

[12:11] Unknown speaker: Honey. That's this horse. His father left it to him.

[12:14] Unknown speaker: Well, I'm afraid we won't need any horses. You see, all the haulings done under contract.

[12:20] Unknown speaker: If honey can't go, I have to stay, mister.

[12:22] Unknown speaker: But uh come on, come on, honey, come on.

[12:26] Unknown speaker: Come back.

[12:27] Unknown speaker: I was about to say some arrangements can be made for hiring the horse, if necessary.

[12:33] Unknown speaker: It's necessary, all right. Honey hasn't been away from me since I first saw her.

[12:37] Unknown speaker: Well, if honey's got to come, she's got to come. Let's go.

[12:40] Unknown speaker: Give up, honey. Giddy up, giddy up, honey. Give it up.

[12:46] Unknown speaker: And they tell how the gravedigger, who's been sent out to get a strong muscular apprentice, came back to the cemetery with a horse and a boy weighing 70 pounds. And his fella gravedigger, Uriah Stone didn't like it.

[13:00] Uriah Stone: You won't be able to explain this to the superintendent. You'd better get that bedraggled horse off these grounds before he makes you dig your own grave.

[13:08] Unknown speaker: Look, Uriah, I didn't spend 20 years as a jockey without learning a little about horses and riders. So that kid's one in a thousand. Now a lot of kids talk to horses, but here's one who's got horses talking to him. You see what I'm driving at?

[13:24] Uriah Stone: Well, I'm beginning to. Now, half the gravediggers we got in the cemetery are ex-jockeys. Well, instead of apprenticing the boy to care for graves, we'll teach him to handle horses. And we'll take him over to the track. Get him in old man Pepper's stables. Win enough on his riding to get us all a little plot of land to plant vegetables instead of people. It's the only hope I see for us old fellas to get away from cemetery work.

[13:49] Unknown speaker: Well, maybe so. Call the others and see what they got to say.

[13:55] Unknown speaker: The ex-jockeys came to see the boy. Took him inside their shanties, set him down at a table, quibble over the best food to feed a 70-pounder. Talk to him of horses and horsemen, of gold and glory. And in the morning, showed him the right way to mount and sit on his horse.

[14:14] Unknown speaker: Honey. That's it, boy. That's the right position. That's right. But now you can give him a little bit of a whip.

[14:19] Isaac Murphy: I told you, I won't use a whip on a horse.

[14:21] Unknown speaker: In a race, you've got to.

[14:23] Isaac Murphy: All right, well, never mind. You'll be riding real horses then. Gallop on.

[14:29] Unknown speaker: Hey, you're right. Look at that seat. Look at it.

[14:35] Unknown speaker: And in between there, Spadey, the diggers were stopped while their apprentice scampered across the road, leaped over slabs, and erred his racer on.

[14:44] Isaac Murphy: Giddy up, honey. Giddy upon. Get ahead, honey. Get him up.

[14:51] Unknown speaker: One in a thousand, I tell you. One in a thousand. He'll get us out of this symmetry. He'll free every grave digger in here. He rides like he's part of the horse. Oh, it won't be long now.

[15:07] Unknown speaker: The ex-jockeys kept pouring their souls into the new apprentice. And when the racing season started, they took both Isaac Murphy and the horse over to own a red pepper, who looked skeptical.

[15:19] Mr. Pepper: Well, I don't know. The boy looks young to me.

[15:22] Unknown speaker: Man, he's not very old. But he's a winner, Mr. Pepper. We trained him ourselves. Come over here, boy. I say, come over here.

[15:32] Unknown speaker: My, he does fit on that neck pretty nicely.

[15:36] Mr. Pepper: Yes, sir. Eli tells me you got the makings of a jockey. You can ride for my stables, and we'll see if he's right. Now go on over there and weigh in.

[15:47] Unknown speaker: Yes, sir. You're gonna start him today.

[15:51] Mr. Pepper: Yes. On one of my best horses. Shows you what I think of the training job you do. Here, take this green back. We're bringing him over to me.

[16:00] Unknown speaker: Oh, well, now, Mr. Pepper, you needn't uh and don't forget to take that manger nag back to the graveyard with you when you go.

[16:07] Mr. Pepper: Uh, what about that horse?

[16:09] Unknown speaker: Well, yes. He goes with the rider. No other way.

[16:13] Mr. Pepper: What are you giving me?

[16:15] Unknown speaker: The truth. That's the way the boy wants it.

[16:17] Mr. Pepper: Well, all right, I'll see you about that later. Put the nag in one of the stalls for now. I want that boy to ride this afternoon.

[16:26] Unknown speaker: And when the postcall came.

[16:38] Unknown speaker: And the horses marched out onto the track. Isaac Murphy, dressed in the bright silks of the pepper stables, was up on Footloose, the favorite. And on the pepper, stopped him for a minute to talk.

[16:48] Mr. Pepper: Footloose needs plenty of whip from the start, boy. Plenty of whip, you hear me?

[16:54] Isaac Murphy: Yes, sir, Mr. Pepper.

[16:56] Unknown speaker: Isaac. One win, and you're in. Now you give it all you got.

[17:04] Unknown speaker: What's the matter, boy? You look strange.

[17:06] Isaac Murphy: I don't feel right about a whip, Eli.

[17:08] Unknown speaker: No, what's he saying, Eli?

[17:10] Unknown speaker: Well, it's nothing, Mr. Pepper. Now get on up there to the starting line. They're waiting for you, boy. You get on up there and remember the whip.

[17:17] Unknown speaker: The whip. Isaac and foot moved Lou off to the starting pole. The starter raised his red flag. Held it while the horses even their line. Then dropped it.

[17:30] Unknown speaker: Come on, I get off. Come on, boy! Get out of there, boy! Get off!

[17:35] Unknown speaker: What you ain't gone! Get out! Get out!

[17:38] Unknown speaker: Footloose was still prancing. Why the other horses were rounding the first turn. Footloose had been left at the starting line. Oh, the fool jockeys! His whip never touched footloose! Get him off that track!

[17:53] Unknown speaker: Oh show that! Show that boy how to use a whip. Get him off of there! Bring them here.

[18:01] Unknown speaker: The trainer brought Footloose and Isaac off the track. Brought him to the owner. Pepper snatched the jockey's whip, cracked it against the flanks of the horse.

[18:13] Unknown speaker: Why the trainer held on until suddenly Pepper's hand was caught.

[18:16] Isaac Murphy: Don't hit him anymore.

[18:17] Unknown speaker: Let go of my wrist, or I'll break you in two.

[18:19] Isaac Murphy: Don't hit him!

[18:20] Unknown speaker: Let go, you little fool! The big man tried to shake loose from the grip of the 70-pound jockey, but it was like a steel lock that wouldn't break.

[18:29] Unknown speaker: Eli make this crazy jockey let go of my hand!

[18:32] Unknown speaker: Isaac, let go of Mr. Pepper. Quit now.

[18:35] Isaac Murphy: Is he gonna whip that horse?

[18:37] Unknown speaker: The devil with the horse. I wanna I'm gonna take care of you. Now, get out of my sight before I have you thrown out. You'll never ride a horse out.

[18:46] Isaac Murphy: I tried to tell you, Mr. Pepper. He's funny about horses. He can't stand seeing them whipped. It's just his way.

[18:54] Mr. Pepper: I can't stand losing races because a jockey is too timid to whip a horse. I can make it up for you if you'll let me.

[19:01] Mr. Pepper: Not on any of my horses.

[19:02] Isaac Murphy: I'll ride my own horse for you.

[19:05] Mr. Pepper: You mean that scrubby looking mare? She used to be a race horse with the sawyest record in Kentucky.

[19:11] Unknown speaker: That's because the jockeys didn't understand her. You see, you've got to really know honey. Before she'll run. Nobody in the world knows honey any better than Isaac, Mr. Pepper. Nobody.

[19:20] Mr. Pepper: That nobody wants to. If you'll get her in the next race, I'll show you. I want to show those people that I can bring in a winner.

[19:28] Mr. Pepper: Oh, you do, huh? Well, maybe it'll convince you that you belong across the track in the cemetery and not in a saddle.

[19:37] Mr. Pepper: I'll enter her.

[19:39] Unknown speaker: Isaac saddled honey. Weighed in. And when the postcall came.

[19:54] Unknown speaker: Trotted up to the starting post, swung in between the thoroughbreds and saw the starter's red flag come down. The field shot off and left Honey behind.

[20:05] Unknown speaker: Isaac put his mouth to the horse's ear. But by the first turn, the field was three lengths away. And the crowd had forgotten Honey was even in the race.

[20:13] Unknown speaker: Brave diggers over in the cemetery was riding their spades and shouted loud enough to wake up to death before Honey seemed to understand what was going on and started cutting the front horses down foot by foot.

[20:23] Unknown speaker: With a hundred yards to go, Isaac tried to edge along the rail, but couldn't get through. And when they shot through the stretch, there she was, still with a streak of daylight between honey and the lead horse.

[20:34] Unknown speaker: Isaac started talking to her like she was a natural brother. The patch of daylight got smaller to three horses was bunched together like a piece of midlife.

[20:45] Unknown speaker: Honey stretched her long neck forward and crossed the wire by a head. The winner.

[20:58] Unknown speaker: It all started on a 50 to one shot. Bookmakers had given up for dead. Strangest thing ever happened in all my racing days. I'll try another jockey on honey next week. Maybe she's got something.

[21:11] Unknown speaker: But when Honey went to the post next without Isaac, she took her time getting off to start.

[21:19] Unknown speaker: And all the talking in old Kentucky couldn't make her across the finish line ahead of the last horse. That crazy kid must know something. Never seen anybody get anything out of a horse like this. Well, if I have to, I'll put Isaac back on her. After all, 50 to 1 is 50 to 1. And cemetery number two was alive with speculation as the grave diggers dug up their savings from the first funeral. Prepare at the back the 50 to 1 shot. And the jockey they had trained. 285, 295, 300, 303. All on honey in the first race to win. Exactly as you say, sir. Um honey in the first race to win. Yes, sir. That's it. Corns that had been out of circulation since the days of 30 Ben Franklin showed up at the betting cages.

The news spread that the gravedigger's apprentice was going to ride like no jockey had ridden before. When the postcall came on a great day, there wasn't a living soul left in the cemetery across the way. Over at the track, as a crowd watched the horses come to the line.

[22:39] Mr. Pepper: On a pepper patted Isaac Wyrie back. I knew you had it in you. Boy, I knew you had it in you. Just handle honey carefully, and you're on your way. You'll be well off overnight. Not to say what I'll be. Everything all right, Isaac? Boy. All this attention's made honey nervous. She doesn't like this much attention from strangers. You know, I'm afraid. You know you can free every gravedigger in the cemetery just by winning.

[23:08] Isaac Murphy: I know. Hey, hey, get on out there in the fields. They're waiting. Get on out there. Honey tiptoed out on the track like a Maltese kitten, strutted by the line and took her place by the rail. Switched to Bob Tail as the starter raised his flag. And when he dropped it, shot off like a boat of young lightning. Put two links of stray light between herself and the second horse before they rounded the first turn. Isaac was riding a short. His body sucked. His lips moving as though he was telling her a story. And when we needed to stretch, he glanced over his shoulder at the second rider coming up, greedy for the rail. But whatever he told Honey, she didn't understand. For she missed the pace. Her legs doubled up like hinges, and her head hit the turf. And Isaac went over her like he'd been shot from a crossbow, stressed out on the track while the thoroughbreds thundered over him.

[24:01] Eli Bender: But before the last warden came across, honey got up, limped over to the jockey, took his shirt and his teeth, and dragged him off the track as Eli and Pepper ran to him.

[24:13] Mr. Pepper: Is he hurt badly, Eli?

[24:16] Eli Bender: Uh, he's coming out of it. I think he'll be all right. He's been nothing but bad luck to me. Nothing but he and that horse. I put a lot of money on him. And so did the gravediggers. And we're not sorry. I want him out of my stables. And that horse of his. And legs broke. But you know what you got to do about that.

[24:39] Mr. Pepper: I'll do it. Please, you stay with the boy until he comes around.

[24:45] Unknown speaker: And they said an old Chalky went into honey stable. Found that horse that pared a grave in the south lower with his foot. He raised his rifle and just as Isaac rushed in.

[24:58] Isaac Murphy: You're like, don't, don't, not honey!

[25:02] Unknown speaker: This is the way of the track, son. Always a winner and always a loser. Takes an eternity to breed a racehorse and a second to destroy one. Takes an eternity to find a horseman who understands a horse the way he understands a human. You've got it, Isaac. It's a gift. You keep riding. Watch your horses carefully. Ride him the way they want to be ridden. Never beat them. A horse is like people. He returns love when he gets love. Oh, you're gonna be the greatest jockey in the world. Just remember your bargain with the gravediggers. We'll get another long shot. Then we'll call you again. Now go find yourself another horse. You speak their language.

[25:46] Isaac Murphy: I know I've been changed. I know changed. The angels in heaven sign my name.

[26:10] Unknown speaker: Isaac went back to the track and got another mount. Studded him like a book and rode in the way he wanted to be written. And crossed the finish line, two lengths ahead of the second man. Then he went to the round of tracks in Florida in November. Hot Springs in April, Lexington, Louisville, Illinois, Michigan, California, and Maryland, New York and New Mexico. Won the American Derby four times. Then Kentucky Derby three times. Went out to Saratoga, accepted 50 mounts, and coached 49 winners across the finish line. Threw away his whip and all it and dropped his spurs in Washington Park. Retired after having accepted 1,412 mounts and winning 628 races. Never crossed the track to the cemetery. I saw the grave diggers again into the thunder cracked that day in May.

Rolled away and left the muddy track. Little gravedigger with a nag named Broomstick. She's a hundred to one shot, son. And every grave digger's laying it all on the line. If you ride her. Now what do you say?

[27:22] Isaac Murphy: I say keep your money in your pocket. That's where I keep mine.

[27:25] Unknown speaker: You won't ride?

[27:26] Isaac Murphy: I'll ride. Get her ready for me.

[27:29] Unknown speaker: Isaac, you're not going out.

[27:31] Isaac Murphy: I've got to ride. I've got to give them another chance to win.

[27:34] Unknown speaker: What chance have you got if you ride in that weather? I know what the doctor said. Get the horse ready, Eli.

[27:44] Unknown speaker: Broomstick was ready. And the racetrack was packed again. The cemetery was empty of the living. And when the call came, Broomstick trotted out on the track. Took his place next to the rail where the gravediggers ripped their tickets as if they were the last try to win the stake. When the starter flag failed. Broomstick got off slowly. The field whooped ahead and made the first turn before broomstick had gone six lengths. They said, dead still while the favorites clogged through the mud and Isaac leaned over Broomstick's ear and sang.

[28:18] Isaac Murphy: Get here, Broomstick, get up, baby. Get up, broomstick, give up.

[28:24] Unknown speaker: And lightning leaped in the broomstick and then stretched across the track. And Isaac pressing her head and whispering into her ear, calling and crying, talking about old times and horses, about sirs and mares, and races and handicapped, stables and clubhouses, starters and judges. And when they turned into the home stretch, Isaac saw a hole between the first two horses and slid inside them. Broomsticks thundered through like she was in her prime and gave one mighty burst. And the water drank, and the track stood up screaming, a roll of thunder rumbled across the sky. Broomstick's knees bent like a body in prayer. And again, Isaac flew over a horse's neck like he'd been shot from a bow and landing in the mud and ascending low.

[29:13] Unknown speaker: They picked him up and carried him to the jockey's room. He opened his eyes and looked at the wet faces of the grave diggers and asked.

[29:23] Isaac Murphy: When broomstick.

[29:28] Unknown speaker: I know I've been changed. And they say Isaac Murphy turned over inside and said, Mine too, Eli. Mine too. And they wrapped him up. Called the doctor. But cold and fluid beat him to Isaac's heart. And so Isaac Murphy, three-time Kentucky Derby winner and gravedigger's apprentice, returned to those who had first taught him how to ride and never left him again.

[30:25] Unknown speaker: Destination Freedom is written by Richard Durham and produced under the direction of Donny L. Betts. The cast for the Gravedigger's Handicap included Claire Francis Peterson, Ida Gabrielle, Greg Ward, Kurt Soderstrom, Vincent C. Robinson, Jeffrey W. Nicholson as Isaac Murphy, and Donnie L. Betts as Diggers. The singer of our theme was Claire Francis Peterson, with musical direction by Jan Van Sickle, and musical guest by Lemonist Lionel Young and percussionist Alfredo Pinto. Sound effects by Gabrielle and Cheryl Wortley. The Trumpet Fanfare by Steve Illich. The engineers for tonight's program, The Gravedigger's Handicap, were Darren Gabbard and Greg Benson. I'm Rodney Franks.

[31:17] Rodney Franks: That concludes this episode of Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. Make sure you check us out at nocredits.com and pick up our podcast wherever you get your podcasts. iTunes, Radio Public, Spotify, etc. Follow us at Twitter at DonnieBets. Hashtag NoCredits Production LLC. Hashtag Black Radio Days. Hashtag Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. Thank you for listening.