Retired jockey Gregg McCarron passes
Frank Vespe
January 10, 2026
Retired jockey Gregg McCarron has died Jan. 8 following a heart attack, sources reported. He was 77.
McCarron was living at his farm in Mt. Airy, MD, at the time of his passing.
Though not as well-known as his brother, Chris, whom he helped steer to a Hall of Fame career, Gregg McCarron was an exceptionally accomplished jockey in his own right.
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McCarron, whose career began in 1969, went on to win 2,403 races from 20,595 starts. His mounts earned nearly $27.3 million.
He won 29 graded stakes in his career, including seven Grade 1 events.
His first Grade 1 win came in the 1977 Jockey Club Gold Cup aboard On the Sly, with whom he won four graded stakes in ’77 and ’78. On the Sly gave McCarron his only Kentucky Derby mount in the 1976 Run for the Roses, and the Mel Gross trainee, who began his career with a win at Bowie, finished fifth.
That same year, Gregg McCarron had his only Preakness mount, finishing eighth aboard Counter Punch. That same year’s Preakness marked younger brother Chris McCarron’s Preakness bow, the younger McCarron finishing ninth aboard Sire Regal. Chris McCarron would go on to win the Preakness twice, with Alysheba in 1987 and Pine Bluff in 1992.
Gregg McCarron earned additional Grade 1 wins with Before Dawn (1981 Spinaway), Broom Dance (1982 Alabama), Mademoiselle Forli (1983 Ladies), Bounding Basque (1983 Wood Memorial), Hall of Famer Mom’s Command (1984 Selima), and Vision (1984 Secretariat).
McCarron’s Selima win aboard Mom’s Command was his only Grade 1 victory in Maryland, which was one of his major bases during his career.
He earned his final graded win in the 1991 Cherry Hill Mile (G3) aboard Gala Spinaway, then trained by George Clarke. Two years later, the son of Star Choice would give trainer Graham Motion his first graded win in the G3 Polynesian at Pimlico.
From 1995 to 2008, Gregg McCarron oversaw a small training operation, enjoying his highest earning year in 2001 when his runners won 11 races and earned over $325,000, with Amourette, his best trainee, winning three stakes. In all McCarron’s charges won 88 races and earned nearly $1.9 million.
A native of Dorchester, MA, McCarron is survived by his wife Darlene, son Matt, a retired steeplechase jockey, a grandson, eight siblings, and numerous nieces and nephews.
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