McLaughlin Riding High as Jockey Agent

In 2006, Kiaran McLaughlin trained Jazil to a 1 1/4-length victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1) for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell Stable. Fifteen years later, McLaughlin is celebrating another Belmont Stakes win, this time as agent to jockey Luis Saez, who rode Essential Quality to a hard-fought triumph for his first classic win. The champion 2-year-old male of 2020 is owned by Godolphin, the racing operation founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the brother of the late Sheikh Hamdan. McLaughlin spent 10 years in Dubai, training for both Shadwell and Godolphin before returning to the United States in 2003, several years after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. He continued to condition horses for them and opened a public stable, winning the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) with Invasor (ARG), the 2007 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) with Lahudood (GB), and the 2016 Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1T) with Tamarkuz. He retired in early 2020 with earnings over $120 million and assumed Saez' book that spring. He spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch about the decision to become a jockey agent, what makes Saez a successful rider, and being part of a Belmont victory with a Godolphin-owned horse. MarketWatch: What made you decide to become a jockey agent after training for so many years? Kiaran McLaughlin: In August 2019, I was talking to Richard DePass, Luis's agent, and he told me that he was thinking about retiring. I said to him, "Well, if you do, keep me in mind for the job." He thought I was kidding. "You wouldn't give up training," he said to me, and I said, "I'm serious." Richard and I stayed in touch and when he retired in March 2020, we made it official and I took over April 1. Earlier in my career I had been a jockey agent for a year and a half for Chris Antley, and given the expenses of working in New York and the tough requirements for H-2B visas and everything I was going through, I was happy to do something different. MW: Why were you ready to give up training? KM: I didn't like the governor saying that I was stealing from my help. (In November 2019, McLaughlin paid $300,000 in penalties, wages, and damages following an investigation by the New York State Department of Labor.) It hurt my feelings and my pride. Nobody took care of their help better than I did; I had people who had worked with me for 18 years. I had a few small bookkeeping mistakes, but I was not stealing from my help. Grooms were staked weekly depending on how their horses ran and exercise riders and assistants were given quarterly stakes. Everyone was very happy working for me. It was a great environment to be around and be a part of. I also offered a 401k and health insurance—not many trainers do that. MW: Do you have any regrets about leaving training? KM: No, I don't. I love our sport and this industry, and being an agent enables me to stay in touch with racing managers, owners, and friends. Because of the pandemic, I didn't go out to the track often in 2020, but I was able to stay in touch with everybody. In Saratoga last summer, I was out every morning, and I'll do that again this year. I'm vaccinated and now I'm going to the track more often. MW: Does having multiple sclerosis put you at greater risk of infection? KM: For sure. (My wife) Letty and I wanted to be careful, so we stayed home. We're still doing entries over Zoom for all the tracks, so it makes it easy for all of us. It works pretty well: sometimes a track says it's going to draw at noon, then they push it back to 2 o'clock, then to 3 o'clock, and this way we all can be on the phone wherever we are. It's probably less aggravating for the racing office, too, because we're not all standing at the counter yelling our entries. MW: How are you feeling? There was some talk that you retired because of your health. KM: Not at all. I feel great. I was diagnosed in 1998, and I'm doing great. I don't walk as well as I did five years ago, but I can still walk without an aid. I'm not in pain and I have no issues at all. I feel blessed. MW: What makes Saez such a successful rider? KM: He's just very talented. He doesn't have a weight issue, he works hard, and he stays fit. He communicates great with horses, and he has a great attitude. He's had some difficulties, for sure: his brother died in a riding accident in 2014, and he got disqualified on Maximum Security in the (2019) Kentucky Derby. He thinks about his brother every day, but he handled the Derby situation great and he's moved on. He knows that you can't change what happened two years ago. He's got a wife and three daughters, and they're his life. He feels blessed. MW: Is it especially meaningful for you to have won the Belmont with a jockey riding a Godolphin horse? KM: For sure. I started working for the Maktoum family in 1993, and I left on good terms. It's great to still be involved with them and it's special to win their first American classic race in Godolphin colors. It's great to win for Brad Cox and his team; they do a fabulous job. It's nice for Luis to win it and he was probably on the best horse in the Kentucky Derby, too. (Essential Quality finished fourth by a little more than a length.) In my opinion, the post position (14) cost us; we ran 68 feet more than the winner, but we were out in the clear and he didn't get in trouble. In fields with 15, 20 horses, it's easy to get in trouble, and he didn't. It is what it is; it didn't work out, but Essential Quality is definitely the best 3-year-old.