Chris McCarron
Just call him Chris McCarron
the Spoiler. His reputation as one of racing's
most gifted riders was enhanced in 1996, when
he guided Alphabet Soup to victory in the Breeders'
Cup Classic, ruining Cigar's farewell, and the
following year, when he and Touch Gold won the
Belmont Stakes to spoil Silver Charm's Triple
Crown bid. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts,
in 1955, McCarron exploded onto the racing scene
in 1974 when he set a then-single season record
of 546 wins-a record that would stand for 15 years.
He won an Eclipse Award that season as top apprentice,
and his laurels have since included a second Eclipse
statue (1980), the George Woolf and Mike Venezia
Memorial Awards, and induction into racing's Hall
of Fame.
McCarron, who has won
two Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness Stakes, and two
Belmonts, has reigned as the nation's leading rider
by money won four times and by races won on three
occasions. In 1994 he became the 11th rider in history
to pass the 6,000-victory mark. His Triple Crown
record has been exemplary, with 12 first- or second-place
finishes from 38 mounts. Last year's Triple Crown
ended for McCarron a week after a 14th-place finish
in the Derby aboard Stephen Got Even when he was
injured in a training accident at Hollywood Park. |
