Mac Diarmida

Last updated
Mac Diarmida
Sire Minnesota Mac
Grandsire Rough 'n Tumble
Dam Flying Tammie
Damsire Tim Tam
Sex Stallion
Foaled 1975
Country United States
Colour Dark Bay/Brown
Breeder John Hartigan
Owner Dr. Jerome M. Torsney
Trainer Flint S. Schulhofer
Record 16: 12-0-2
Earnings US$503,184
Major wins
Lexington Handicap (1978)
Leonard Richards Stakes (1978)
Lawrence Realization Stakes (1978)
Long Branch Stakes (1978)
Secretariat Stakes (1978)
Canadian International Championship (1978)
Washington, D.C. International Stakes (1978)
Awards
American Champion Male Turf Horse (1978)
Honours
Mac Diarmida Handicap at Gulfstream Park

Mac Diarmida (19752005) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Thoroughbred Horse breed developed for racing

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 considered "hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit.

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.

Contents

Background

Mac Diarmida was bred by John Hartigan at his Cashel Stud farm in Ocala, Florida. Sired by Minnesota Mac, he was out of the mare Flying Tammie, a daughter of the 1958 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Tim Tam.

Ocala, Florida City in Florida, United States

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida, United States, which is part of the northern region of the state. As of the 2017 census, its population, estimated by the United States Census Bureau, was 59,110, making it the 49th most populated city in Florida.

Kentucky Derby American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

The Kentucky Derby is a horse race that is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of one and a quarter miles (2.0 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds.

Preakness Stakes American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat thoroughbred horse race held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg); fillies 121 lb (55 kg). It is the second jewel of the Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and two or three weeks before the Belmont Stakes.

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.

Weanling A young animal just weaned from its mother

A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between six months and a year. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling.

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Professional sports hall of fame in Saratoga Springs, New York

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1951 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Avenue near Saratoga race course, at which time inductions into the hall of fame began. Each spring, following the tabulation of the final votes, the announcement of new inductees is made, usually during Kentucky Derby Week in early May. The actual inductions are held in mid-August during the Saratoga race meeting.

Flint S. "Scotty" Schulhofer was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.

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.

Jean Cruguet American jockey

Jean Cruguet is a retired French-American thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.

Europe Continent in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere

Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia.

The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is C$$800,000

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 Ocala, Florida where he had been born. There, he served as a stallion for thirteen seasons before being pensioned. He was the sire of seventy-three winners, including four stakes winners.

Stud (animal) registered animal retained for breeding

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is intact—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring. A specialized vocabulary exists for de-sexed animals and those animals used in grading up to a purebred status.

Sire was a respectful form of address for reigning kings in Europe. It was used in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Historically, Sire had a wider usage. During the Middle Ages, Sire was generally used to address a superior, a person of importance or in a position of authority, or the nobility in general.

Due to the infirmities of old age, on September 8, 2005, the thirty-year-old Mac Diarmida was humanely euthanized. He is buried in the Cashel Farm's equine cemetery.

Animal euthanasia is the act of putting an animal to death or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable conditions or diseases, lack of resources to continue supporting the animal, or laboratory test procedures. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress. Euthanasia is distinct from animal slaughter and pest control although in some cases the procedure is the same.

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