By Kristin Bechthold
Glen Murphy has had 288 starts and 23 wins at Canterbury Park with a total of $233,116 in earnings. He has been racing for 29 years and is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He has returned to Canterbury Park for his first full season since 1996. He also rides at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, and Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Murphy has been riding since he was a youngster. He figures he got on his first pony at the age of two years old, since his parents had horses as he was growing up. His love for horses has stayed with him over the years, and he now considers being around them the best part of racing, apart from the thrill of winning.
Most jockeys can agree that being unbreakable would be one of the best “superpowers” they could acquire. Murphy said that that would be his first choice for a superpower, since he has had a lot of broken bones from racing. He described the worst damage that’s been done was having two rods put into his leg, which took one year and four months to recover from, as well as breaking his neck twice.
Despite the dangers of his career, Murphy still continues to ride and focuses on the benefits of his career as a jockey. He considers traveling to different race tracks as a perk of his job. “Traveling from race track to race track is a year-round job,” Murphy said. “It’s nice because you get to see a lot of new places and meet new people.” He regards Canterbury Park as one of his favorite places and is excited to be back in the area.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46_q1wwpJG0&w=560&h=315]
video by Michelle Benson
Murphy’s primary outside of his career as a jockey is being a good father. He has a four year old daughter named Noelle with his wife, Joy, who was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma in 2012. Between his family and his career, he does not have much free time for hobbies, though he considers golfing to be one he loves. Despite having been golfing as long as he’s been riding, he claims that his game hasn’t improved at all over the years. Other than improving his golf game, fishing is a hobby he would love to learn how to do.
