Thomas Rutherford McCarthy (November 30, 1933 – July 21, 2016) was an American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

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 ...

owner and trainer from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, best known for the 2009

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

winner and

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 ...

runner,

General Quarters General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed ...

. From a racing family, his grandfather was a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and both his father and uncle trained horses at racetracks in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. McCarthy had been a racehorse owner and sometimes trainer since 1960 and was unique in the racing industry in that he did all the work of maintaining and conditioning his horses. On May 30, 2008, McCarthy claimed General Quarters for $20,000 out of a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

. He would later turn down million dollar offers for the horse, telling the

TVG Network FanDuel TV is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by FanDuel Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment. Formerly known as TVG and specializing in coverage of live horse rac ...

interviewer "you don't sell a dream." He graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

, Barbourville KY and from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

. Upon receiving a degree in biology, he served in the U.S. Army. He then spent 34 years in the Jefferson County School Public System in Louisville as a science teacher, counselor and principal at Seneca High School, Durrett and Valley High Schools. Upon retirement, he returned to training thoroughbred horses; he worked as a trainer until May, 2016. His high school was Norwich (CT) Free Academy, class of 1952. He later received the Norwich Native Son Award in 2010. McCarthy died on July 21, 2016, in

, due to

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

External links

''A Horse and a Derby Dream'' - TVG-McCarthy, General Quarters in Kentucky Derby

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Thomas R. 1933 births 2016 deaths Kentucky Derby American educators American racehorse owners and breeders Sportspeople from New London, Connecticut Horse trainers from Louisville, Kentucky