Catching Up With Chris McCarron

Chris McCarron won his first of two Belmont Stakes in 1986 with Danzig Connection (Danzig) at odds of 8-1, unexpectedly defeating that year's Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Ferdinand (Nijinsky II) and giving trainer Woody Stephens the last of five consecutive victories in the Test of the Champion.

The next year, he found himself on the other side of the fence aboard Alysheba (Alydar). Alysheba and McCarron had won the first two legs of the Triple Crown and were on track to complete the series when, coming around the second turn at Belmont, they ran into the heels of Gone West (Mr. Prospector), losing all momentum and settling for fourth behind Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up Bet Twice (Sportin' Life).

But of course, Alysheba would return to his winning ways soon enough and earn the year's title for Champion 3-Year-Old Colt, running second by a nose in an iconic dual with fellow Derby winner Ferdinand in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Alysheba and McCarron returned the next year to win six Grade Is. 'America's Horse' capped off his career in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic, the victory earning him Horse of the Year honors and the title of the world's richest horse.

“He was phenomenal,” McCarron said, crediting the fellow Hall of Famer as the best horse he ever rode. “He was a fantastic ride and brought a lot of joy to my life and my family's life. We traveled a lot with him and he was very special.”

McCarron retired as a jockey after 28 years in racing in 2002. Since then, he served as an advisor and actor in the film Seabiscuit, held the position of vice president and general manager at Santa Anita Park, worked as a racing analyst for TVG Network and launched the North American Racing Academy.

These days, his schedule is not quite as jam-packed as when he was at the pinnacle of racing, but the sexagenarian keeps himself fully occupied. When he's not out perfecting his swing on the golf course, a practice he normally partakes in about four days a week, he finds himself back at the barn giving riding lessons to his young grandson Griffin.

“Griffin lives right near me, about 15 minuted from my house,” he shared. “I get to pick him up from school every afternoon and spend a couple hours with him every day, so we're having a blast together. My two other grandsons live in Sherman Oaks, California and I get to see them a few times a year.”

While he's just starting to get into riding, Griffin undoubtedly has horse sense in his blood. Aside from a grandfather who earned $264 million on the racetrack, his mother Stevie McCarron Wigley is an accomplished equestrian and operates Cloud Nine Farm in Midway, Kentucky.

“His mom is being kind of cautious,” McCarron shared. “I think she seems a little reticent to have him ride too often. I'm sure it's because she doesn't want him to get hurt, but I wish he would ride more often. He's not really totally into it yet, but he enjoys it when he's doing it.”

McCarron said he would be happy if his grandson someday decided to pursue a career in racing, but admits he doesn't want him to follow in his footsteps with his particular job choice.

“It's pretty dangerous and I don't know if I could stomach it,” he said. “I just hope I'm around when he's of the age to decide what he wants to do. When he's 18, I'm going to be in my late eighties, so hopefully I'll make it to that point.”

Chris McCarron and Alysheba take the 1987 GI Kentucky Derby. | Horsephotos

McCarron shared the story of how he decided he wanted to be a jockey when he was a teenager watching his older brother Gregg McCarron excel among the East Coast jockey ranks.

“He started riding when I was a freshman in high school and when I got out of school on the north end of Boston, I would get on the train at three in the afternoon and go three stops to Suffolk Downs,” McCarron recalled. “At the time you had to be 18 or older to get in, so I would actually have to climb the fence to sneak in and watch my brother ride the last few races on the card.”

The older brother got his younger brother a job as a hot walker between McCarron's junior and senior year of high school at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire.

“I was infatuated from day one,” McCarron said. “When I went back to school to graduate from high school, I went from an average student to a less-than-average student because all I could think about was horses and racing. I graduated in 1972 and got a job on the racetrack with my brother's boss. The man who taught him to ride also taught me how to ride and I've been here ever since.”

McCarron said these days, he enjoys popping into the jockeys' room once in a while to chat with the riders and pick their brains.

“I really miss the big days,” he admitted. “I love to go into the jocks' quarters and I appreciate the camaraderie in there. But I don't miss riding on a day-to-day basis.”

Asked how today's top jockeys differ from those of his day, McCarron responded,  “I think the jockeys of today are a little bit more knowledgeable about how the whole industry works. The most prominent and successful riders are very, very smart and they pay attention to all the different things that go on in our industry. They strive to make it a better place and I'm so excited about that.”

McCarron is using his past experiences and accumulated knowledge to further improve the sport by focusing on medication reform.

“I'm thankful for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act,” he said. “I worked for quite some time with my colleagues on getting that bill passed and we were ecstatic when it passed last year. I'm all about a level playing field. I want horses to be running on their own merit without any assistance from medication and we're working toward that end. It's going to happen soon and I'm thrilled about that.”

McCarron's ongoing mission is to improve the integrity of the sport, a trait that he also hopes will one day resonate with his grandson.

“The most important thing that I hope Griffin learns is integrity,” he said. “This sport has fallen on some tough times over the past two decades and so it's an absolute must for someone to be honest, straightforward and conduct themselves with integrity. I think that's where success starts. You've got to be honest and truthful about what you're doing, what you're saying and what you believe in. So I hope Griffin follows that lead and becomes someone who is respectable.”

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Maxfield ‘Can Keep Improving,’ On Target For Stephen Foster

Godolphin's talented 4-year-old multiple graded stakes winner Maxfield is on target to make his next start in the $600,000 Stephen Foster (Grade 2) on June 26 at Churchill Downs.

“We brought him over to Keeneland after Derby Week at Churchill and we are targeting the Stephen Foster,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “He'll make his way back to Churchill and we'll likely work him Saturday. I think the timing of this race works out well for us because it's the same timing following his race in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1). We know he loves it here at Churchill and I think with age and time he can keep improving.”

Maxfield rebounded from his third-place effort in the Santa Anita Handicap with a dominating 3 ¼-legnth score in the $400,000 Alysheba (G2) on the undercard of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The homebred son of Street Sense was an early Kentucky Derby (G1) favorite in 2020 but was forced to the sidelines with an injury to his right front leg. The colt spent nearly seven months away from the winner's circle but returned at the end of his 3-year-old campaign with a 2 ½-length win the $75,000 Tenacious Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Nominations for the Stephen Foster close Saturday, June 12. The 1 1/8-mile race is a “Win and You're In” event for the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar. The winner will receive a berth to the season-ending championship event.

Next Saturday is Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill Downs with seven stakes races. Many of those races will be used as stepping stones to seven stakes on Stephen Foster Day. The fields for Stephen Foster Preview Day continue to take shape and likely entrants will become available in the coming days.

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Maxfield Makes It Look Easy In Alysheba

Godolphin homebred Maxfield, undefeated until last month's Santa Anita Handicap (third), redeemed himself with a facile 3 1/4-length victory on Kentucky Oaks Friday at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old son of Street Sense pulled away from his rivals with ease as the 1-2 favorite in the G2 Alysheba Stakes, dominating under Jose Ortiz to complete 1 1/16 miles over the fast main track in 1:41.39. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has now won six of his seven lifetime starts to earn nearly $900,000.

“We're just delighted to get him back in the winner's circle again,” Walsh said. “He's a remarkable horse.”

First appearing on the major racing scene with a victory in the G1 Breeders' Futurity in 2019, Maxfield missed out on that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita due to injury. He returned in May of 2020 to win the G3 Matt Winn Stakes, but was again sidelined until December, when he won the listed Tenacious Stakes at the Fair Grounds.

Hitting a rhythm this year, Maxfield won the G3 Mineshaft Stakes before running a good third in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6. He entered the starting gate this Friday as the 1-2 favorite in a field of six, and laid a comfortable third in the early going before ranging up three-wide to take command at the head of the lane.

Maxfield pulled away to an easy win, while frontrunner Visitant held on to be second by 4 1/4 lengths over Chess Chief. Roadster checked in fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Maxfield is out of the winning Bernardini mare Velvety, a half-sister to Sky Mesa. His third dam is the multiple graded stakes winner Caress (Storm Cat).

Maxfield avenged his lone defeat last out at Santa Anita, winning the Alysheba by 3 1/4 lengths

Jose Ortiz (Jockey, Maxfield, winner) – “I was very confident all the way around. We were right where I wanted to be. When it came time to go, he was there for me. He's one of the nice ones.”

Brendan Walsh (Trainer, Maxfield, winner) – “I just told Jose (Ortiz) to get him in a nice rhythm, he likes to roll along and get into that cruising speed. He's an adaptable horse, so he's easy to ride under whatever the circumstances. Physically he's a stronger horse, as time's gone on, he's gradually filled out and he's up to his full maturity, which is exciting. He loves this track, and he hasn't done anything wrong. But actually he hasn't done anything wrong at any track where he's run. He's just a very good horse.”

Umberto Rispoli (Jockey, Visitant, runner-up) – “He's not a fast horse from the gate so I said to myself, 'I'll try to break in front of Roadster and see where I am into the first turn. I saw Irad (Oritz Jr.) on Roadster and I was happy to sit there and have a target. From there I went an easy pace and the horse really responded the whole way. Obviously when Maxfield comes around I have to go as he's got such a big stride. He really gave 100% to the wire but the winner was too good today.”

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Maxfield Drawn Outside For Churchill Return In Alysheba

Godolphin's Maxfield will look to get back on track following the first defeat of his six-race career when he tops a field of six older runners for Friday's 18th running of the $400,000 Alysheba (G2), going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Churchill Downs.

The Alysheba will be the sixth race on the 13-race program with a 1:26 p.m. post time.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield notched victories in his first five starts that included triumphs in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, the Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs and the Tenacious and Mineshaft (G3) at Fair Grounds. He finished third in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in his most recent start.

Jose Ortiz has the mount Friday exiting post six.

Making his second start off an extended layoff, the 5-year-old Roadster will try to regain the form that saw him win the G1 Santa Anita Derby in 2019. The colt returns for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and will be ridden by reigning champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

The field for the Alysheba, with riders and weights from the rail out, is:

  1. Visitant (Umberto Rispoli, 118 pounds)
  2. Sonneman (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118)
  3. Attachment Rate (Joe Talamo, 118)
  4. Chess Chief (Luis Saez, 120)
  5. Roadster (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118)
  6. Maxfield (Jose Ortiz, 120)

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