The Best Jockey since Hanes.....

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Hall of Fame jockey McCarron ends on high note

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Associated Press


INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron finished his career with his 7,141st trip to the winner's circle, his final ride a victory on Came Home in Sunday's $107,500 Affirmed Stakes.


On ''Chris McCarron Day'' at Hollywood Park, the retiring jockey finished out of the money with only one of his six mounts, with two wins, one second and a pair of thirds to show for his last trips around the track.


As he rode Came Home back in front of the grandstand after his winning finale, the 47-year-old McCarron raised his eyes and his riding crop skyward.


Came Home, bet down to 1-5, finished two lengths in front of Tracemark in the feature, and was clocked in 1:41 4-5 over the 1 1-16 miles. Came Home paid $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10.


McCarron rode Came Home to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 4. It was only the second loss for the 3-year-old Santa Anita Derby champion. The colt now has seven wins in nine starts.


The victory was the third in the event for McCarron, who won the race with Tiznow two years earlier. Tiznow went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic two years in a row.


McCarron, whose mounts have earned a record of more than $264 million, also won the fifth race of the day, guiding 6-5 favorite Blind Ambition to victory in her racing debut. After dismounting, McCarron beamed as he trotted to the winner's circle for what would be his next-to-last time.


The 5-foot-2, 113-pound McCarron, his once-bright red hair gray and thinning but with the same boyish twinkle in his eyes, told the cheering crowd at Hollywood Park that he was overwhelmed by the tribute.


''I'm pleased with my decision, have no regrets. Most importantly, my family is pleased with my decision,'' he said.


Choking back tears as he thanked the people who had been part of his riding career, McCarron also provided a light moment, grinning and announcing ''an equipment change'' and slipping a horse's hood with blinkers over his own head.


Among those paying tribute to McCarron during the ceremony in the winner's circle was his brother, Gregg, a former jockey who badly misjudged Chris' potential as a rider.


''Between his junior and senior years in high school, he came down to visit and we put him on a horse and he was scared to death,'' Gregg recalled. ''Mom was so worried about his being a jockey, so I called her that night and said, 'You've got nothing to worry about. He'll never make it.'''


McCarron ranks sixth on the career winners' list, and Laffit Pincay Jr., and Bill Shoemaker, one-two, were among those honoring him in the winner's circle ceremony.


After his racing career got off to an inauspicious start -- he finished dead last in his first race at Bowie Race Course in Maryland -- McCarron quickly established himself as one of the best jockeys in the country. After winning for the first time on Feb. 7, 1974, at Bowie, he went on to set a record with 546 winners at Pimlico, Delaware Park, Bowie and Laurel in his first year.


The record stood until Kent Desormeaux rode 598 winners in 1989.


On his final day of riding, McCarron finished third in the fifth race with Come Back Ronnie after a sixth-place finish aboard Always Game in the fourth. He was third in the third race aboard Miss Hennessy, and second in his first race of the day, aboard Trackofthecat.


Two days earlier, McCarron put another exclamation point to his brilliant career, winning two of the four events in the All-Star Jockey Championship and claiming the overall title in Friday night's competition at Lone Star Park in Texas.


Twice a winner of the Eclipse Award as the nation's top jockey, McCarron, a native of the Boston area, won six Triple Crown races in his 28-year career -- the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont twice each.


He also won nine Breeders' Cup races, including five BC Classics.


Having finished his final work day in the saddle, McCarron was heading off to Alaska with former trainer Gary Jones on a fishing trip.


''I need a vacation,'' McCarron said.