{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Mac Diarmida , image = , caption = , sire = Minnesota Mac , grandsire =

Rough'n Tumble Rough'n Tumble (foaled in 1948) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Santa Anita Derby and became what Bloodhorse called "one of the most successful stallions in Florida breeding history." Rough'n Tumble was purchased privately for ...

, dam = Flying Tammie , damsire = Tim Tam , sex =

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, foaled = 1975 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay/Brown , breeder = John Hartigan , owner = Dr. Jerome M. Torsney , trainer =

Flint S. Schulhofer Flint S. "Scotty" Schulhofer (May 30, 1926 – December 14, 2006) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Early life Schulhofer was born into a racing family in Aiken, South Carolina, where his father owned a racing stab ...

, record = 16: 12-0-2 , earnings = US$503,184 , race = Lexington Handicap (1978)

Leonard Richards Stakes The Barbaro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race once run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. It is now run in October. Previously known as the Leonard Richards Stakes, in 2007 it was renamed in honor ...

(1978)
Lawrence Realization Stakes (1978)
Long Branch Stakes (1978)

Secretariat Stakes The Secretariat Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the Grass, turf. The event was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illi ...

(1978)
Canadian International Championship (1978)

Washington, D.C. International Stakes The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlongs ...

(1978) , awards = American Champion Male Turf Horse (1978) , honours = Mac Diarmida Handicap at Gulfstream Park , updated = Mac Diarmida (1975–2005) was an American Thoroughbred Champion

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Background

Mac Diarmida was bred by John Hartigan at his Cashel Stud farm in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

. Sired by Minnesota Mac, he was out of the mare Flying Tammie, a daughter of the 1958

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and Preakness Stakes winner, Tim Tam. As a weanling, John Hartigan sold Mac Diarmida in a private transaction to Dr. Jerome Torsney, who entrusted his race conditioning to future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Scotty Schulhofer Flint S. "Scotty" Schulhofer (May 30, 1926 – December 14, 2006) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer, racehorse trainer. Early life Schulhofer was born into a racing family in ...

Racing career

Mac Diarmida made two starts at age two without a win. However, at age three he had a Championship year, winning twelve of his fourteen starts including ten in a row on grass surfaces. Ridden by Jean Cruguet, among Mac Diarmida's 1978 wins, he beat older horses in capturing the two most important North American turf races with European competitors: the Canadian International Championship at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Washington, D.C. International at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Mac Diarmida was voted the 1978 Eclipse Award for American Champion Male Turf Horse. Wintered in Florida, Mac Diarmida was being readied to race as a four-year-old when he injured himself and had to be retired from racing.

Stud career

He was sent to stand at stud at Cashel Stud in

where he had been born. There, he served as a

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

for thirteen seasons before being pensioned. He was the

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

of seventy-three winners, including four stakes winners. Due to the infirmities of old age, on September 8, 2005, the thirty-year-old Mac Diarmida was humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

. He is buried in the Cashel Farm's equine cemetery.

References

Mac Diarmida's pedigree and partial racing stats

Video at YouTube of Mac Diarmida winning the 1978 Washington, D.C. International Stakes

Mac Diarmida's obituary at Thoroughbred Times
1975 racehorse births 2005 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 1-k