Darby McCarthy

Richard 'Darby' McCarthy OAM (1945–2020), former jockey who rode in three Melbourne Cups and won more than 1000 races, is a proud descendant of the Mithaka and Goongurri people of south-west and central Queensland. He won his first race at an amateur meeting in Thargomindah at age ten; he then went to Brisbane, lying about his age so as to start a jockey’s apprenticeship with the Queensland Turf Club. By the age of 21 he'd won the Stradbroke Handicaps of 1963, 1964 and 1966, Brisbane Cup and the Doomben 10,000. After moving to Sydney, in 1969 he created history by winning the AJC Derby and the Epsom Stakes on the same day. He then spent a year in Paris on a hefty retainer that funded a lavish but damaging lifestyle. In 1976, McCarthy was disqualified from racing for seven years having been accused of helping to fix a race at the Hamilton Cup meeting. Though it was later proven that he had suffered a miscarriage of justice, the scandal effectively ended his racing career. In his later years McCarthy reiterated the importance of 'the stories of the blackfellas in sport', and called for improved documentation of Australia’s Indigenous sporting history.

A racing fan and renowned press photographer, Ern McQuillan OAM took this image of McCarthy at the height of the jockey's career in the late 1960s.

Purchased 2019