Michael McCarthy © Benoit Photo
Chris Columbus took a chance. So did Michael McCarthy. They both discovered a new world.
McCarthy, 55, has quite a story to tell. He was sitting fat and happy in the world of Thoroughbred racing, riding along with the most successful barn in America as the No. 1 assistant to the nation’s No. 1 trainer. During his almost 11 ½-year run, his boss – Hall of Fame conditioner Todd Pletcher – won no fewer than six Eclipse Awards as the top trainer in the land. Stakes winners left, stakes winners right, stakes winners up the middle. They had it all. Pletcher was on his way to earning his current record $525 million in purses and there was lots of gravy to go-round.
But then one very chilly Thursday morning in December 2013 Pletcher’s chief assistant said goodbye, got on a plane and flew west. In his brave new world he had one horse – one – to train. But he was “home” with his wife Erin and his 3-year-old daughter Stella.
His first year in training on his own saw him win a bit more than $200,000 in purses. This past year saw him take down more than $10.5 million.
One morning last weekend, McCarthy sat trackside at Del Mar between working his dirt horses and waiting to start with his turfers. He chatted:
Q – These days, is it Whitey (his childhood nickname based on his shock of blond hair), Mike or Michael?
A – I always tell people, that as long as you know what my name is, I don’t care what you call me. But it would be Michael; Michael is preferred.
Q – So you’re doing great back east with the Pletcher connection, but your daughter is growing and you miss your wife, who has a good, safe job in California with all the benefits. You make a decision: I’ve basically got to go out on my own. How tough a call was that?
A – Oh, yeah. Hard one. It was going great working for Todd; good horses, 4:30 every Saturday we’re in the stakes race. Winning big races. Exciting. But I’ve got a young family and we’re apart. That’s very hard, very hard. So I took the chance. Maybe if I had it to do all over again, I’d make a different choice. Maybe. But I wanted to be with my toddler, and my wife, so I did it. And I will tell you, the first thing that has to happen when you have one horse to train is you’ve got to get two. You bet; get two.
Q – So let’s give folks a feel for how well you’ve done since that leap of faith. How many horses do you have now?
A – In total, approximately 115. I have 55 here at Del Mar and 60 in my stable in Kentucky, overseen by my assistant Justin Curran. Justin, a good Irish horseman, was the exercise rider for Rags to Riches, the champion filly who beat colts (including Curlin) in the Belmont Stakes. I was her trainer in the west that year when she won the Santa Anita Oaks, then she went back to Todd to win the Kentucky Oaks and the Belmont. Terrific filly, obviously.
Journalism at Del Mar © Benoit Photo
Q – So after all your Derbies with Pletcher during your years there, these previous two years you’ve gone to it with your own horses. What’s that been like?
A – Being involved with the Kentucky Derby is amazing. It’s not just the most famous horse race of them all, I think it is the greatest sporting event of them all. ‘The greatest two minutes in sports.’ In 2024 I ran a horse named Endlessly in the race. He was a turf horse who ran brilliantly in the synthetic prior to the big one so the owners (John and Jerry Amerman) decided to give it a go. He ran a valiant ninth in the Kentucky Derby; he tried. Fast forward to 2025 and I came into the race with Journalism. With Endlessly, we sort of came in through the back door. With Journalism, we came in through the front. He was the favorite (he opened at 3-1 and went off favored at 7/2) and I thought he ran a spectacular race that day. He wound up second-best (to Sovereignty) on the day. But to be in a race like that – a spectacle – with a horse you know has a real chance, that is a pretty good feeling. Then he came back and ran great in the Preakness. As that race unfolded, I was second-guessing myself. I thought maybe I didn’t bring him up to it right. He had been training like a horse with integrity; eating up and acting like a horse who didn’t have a whole lot taken out of him with that mile and a quarter. He was way back and I was concerned. But then he started taking up the bridle and Umberto (Rispoli) took him down inside and he was picking up horses. Then the thought crossed my mind that this horse is going to run great again and, unfortunately, is going to have nothing to show for it. But he kept coming and in the last six jumps it was an out-of-body experience for me. I couldn’t hear anything; I couldn’t see anything. I wasn’t sure he got his head down at the finish, but then a gentleman standing behind me who I used to work for (you know who) patted me on the shoulder and I realized we’d won. An amazing experience. And to win that race for a second time (he took it with Rombauer in 2021 at 11-1), that was something.
Q – You and your family had to evacuate your house in Altadena when it and Pacific Palisades were terrorized by horrific fires in January ‘25. How is your situation there now.
A – Back in the house, thank goodness. Moved back in December 6 of ’25. The neighborhood is coming back together again. New construction; things are much better than they were, thank goodness.
Q – You grew up in L.A. Are you an L.A. sports fan – Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, Kings?
A – I’m a fan. Dodgers, Raiders and the ‘80s and ‘90s Showtime Lakers. I like the Kings, too.
Q – How did you run across William K. Warren and his wife Suzanne of Tulsa, OK (the folks behind his top horses City of Light, Formidable Man and Friar’s Road)?
A – He sought me out, happily. It was a connection through a few different people. Mr. Warren has become more than an owner; he’s a very important person in my life. He means a lot to me and my family. Any time we can have some success for him, we work even harder.
Q – All those years with Todd Pletcher. What is the one thing – the one best thing – he taught you.
A – Ooo, that’s a hard one. But I’d say show up – every day. And you know, if you asked me that question seven more times over the next week, I’d probably have a different answer every time. I was so lucky to team up with him. When I went to work for him, I was an immature 31-year-old where it came to the ways of the professional world. I had a real passion for this game, but I had a lot to learn and I learned it with him. Lots of people remember important days – birthdays, anniversaries, graduations. I will always remember the day I went to work for Todd.
Q – If you and Erin get to take a holiday, where do you go?
A – Oh, boy. We don’t get a lot of ‘holidays.’ I’m busy; she’s busy. But when we do it’s often based around where we are with the horses. Recently we took a couple of days in New York City around running Journalism in the Met Mile. Occasionally we go skiing; Park City, Utah. Mexico is always good, too, for a getaway.
Q – Last question: What’s your favorite desert?
A – My mother’s chocolate cake with vanilla cream frosting. There’s a secret ingredient in it, but I can’t tell you what it is.