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Bloodstock agent McDonald dies at 65 Bloodstock agent Billy McDonald, a colorful and charismatic presence in the industry in the 1970s and 80s, passed away in his sleep Thursday at his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was 65. Based originally in Ireland before relocating to California, McDonald purchased, among others, eventual dual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) winner Alleged, as well as Fairy Bridge (Bold Reason), who would go on to be dam of Sadler's Wells. McDonald was a close associate of Coolmore principal Robert Sangster, for whom he purchased Alleged as an unraced two-year-old in training for $120,000, and counted among his friends celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore. McDonald, in addition to being a bloodstock agent, spent time as a Rolls Royce dealer in California, where he was a mainstay at the track and at various racing haunts. "Billy was one of the great characters of the game," trainer John Gosden said. "He is still in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most Rolls Royces in a day. He was a man who lived life to the full, and had a great eye for a horse. He was a talented pony rider in his youth, and a fast runner, both into -- and out of -- trouble. He was an immensely popular and loveable man who was totally at ease in all the great watering holes, restaurants and race courses of the world. There will never be another Billy." McDonald, who kept a low profile after suffering the effects of a stroke roughly 12 years ago, was a close friend of movie producer David Giler, who secured him a small role in the Richard Dreyfuss horse-racing film Let It Ride. McDonald played a bettor in the 1989 movie. In addition to providing Sangster and the Coolmore connections an initial Arc victory with Alleged in 1978, McDonald would play a role in the stud's legendary stallion Sadler's Wells. According to the book Horsetrader, by Patrick and Nick Robinson, McDonald had joined Sangster, John Magnier and trainer Vincent O'Brien on a scouting mission to Claiborne Farm: Robert and his men had gone there early to see the yearlings before they went to the sale, and McDonald had decided to short circuit the conventional way of perusing the young horses. Taking the yearling manager aside, he pressed a $100 bill into his hand and said, "Which one do YOU like best?" "Oh, I'd go for the little Bold Reason filly every time," he replied. "They always race over to this gate from right across the far side of the paddock, and that little filly is always yards in front when they arrive. SHE is a racehorse." Indeed, the filly, Fairy Bridge, turned out to be a fine runner, winning both starts at two before being named champion two-year-old filly in Ireland. But her real value would be as a broodmare. Her second foal was Sadler's Wells, who carried Sangster's colors to victory in a trio of Group 1 races, then commenced a career as Europe's premier sire. Following are a collection of quotes and anecdotes honoring McDonald: Elaine 'Legs' Lawlor, Goffs Director of Bloodstock Sales "He will be sadly missed. He was a legend, I think. When I lived in Los Angeles, he was character in the bloodstock world who had a knack for bringing new people into the game. Billy was a very good friend with the likes of Bill Shoemaker, Charlie Whittingham, and all those people. He was great mates with Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan. When I was in California, life would have been very dull without Billy. When I went back for the Breeders' Cup this year at Santa Anita, the first person I saw when I went into the Turf Club was Frank the Barman, whose been there for years. He said, 'Legs! Where's Billy?!' Everybody knew him. "There was a restaurant in L.A. called Le Dome, where all the racing people would go to regularly back in the 80s. Billy was friends with Frank Sinatra, and one time Billy had a date at the restaurant, and he asked Frank, who was also dining there, if he wouldn't mind dropping by on his way out and say hello. You know, to impress the girl. Which Frank duly did, and when he stopped by the table, Billy said, 'Frank, not now, can't you see I'm busy?' That story just sums Billy up. "He also had a wonderful gift. Say he met you one time. He'd see you 10, 15 years later, and he'd walk right up to you and remember your name. He was wonderful like that. And pedigrees, he was brilliant on them. He could talk the talk, and there was no better salesman. He could sell ice to an Eskimo. "You couldn't go to California without seeing Billy. Anybody who was anybody who came to L.A., from Robert Sangster to anyone from Europe, would stay with Billy. And all the Australians coming through stay with him." Johnny Jones Jr., who stood Alleged at Walmac "Billy was a very unique character. He had an uncanny ability to have wealthy people spend money on horses. He was one of the world-class characters we've enjoyed in the horse industry. I was really good friends with Sangster and Magnier and those guys, and he was around all the time. "The best story I have about Billy is this: I bought his share of Alleged the night before he won either his first or second Arc. I can't remember. Anyway, Alleged won the race, and the value of the share obviously increased tremendously. But Billy didn't back out of the deal. He stayed with it, and did what he said he'd do." Coolmore associate Richard Henry "I had dinner with (actor) John Forsythe and Billy one day, and John told me that Billy knew more fellas in Hollywood than he did." Tullamaine Castle Stud's Bob Lanigan, former general manager of Coolmore "The first place that I became aware of him, he was working for Georgie Wells, who was a top-class jockey in Ireland who had laterally turned to training a few horses. Billy was working for George. He had started off, I believe, working with jumpers, and then he crossed into racing. Where he went from George's I don't know, but the next time I saw him, he'd resurfaced in L.A. He used to describe himself as, 'The Purveyor of Champions to Millionaires.' He was a wonderful man. He introduced Pierce Brosnan and myself, and bought us a mare called Salidar (Ire), who we bred a good horse called Bin Ajwaad out of. "We had a lot of great times together, and he was a great companion. His great sponsor in life was Robert Sangster; he was very close to Robert and part of his immediate entourage. Billy used to be great friends, too, with Charles Benson. Benson used to write for The Daily Express, and afterwards was part of the syndicated gossip column at the Express. I forget the guy who wrote the column, but Benson and Billy used to keep him plied with plenty of information. Billy also used to have the best letterhead: A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character (Federico Tesio)." Restauranteur Eddie Kerkhofs, who owned popular L.A. hangout Le Dome. He currently owns Il Piccolino "I spoke to him Sunday morning; I called Billy once a month. He sounded so good. His brother Calvin had fallen off a horse and was paralyzed, which was tragic, but he was very glad to have his brother around. The two of them lived with their mother. Last night, his brother called me and said, 'Eddie, I have some bad news. Billy died in his sleep.' But that's a nice way to go. There are so many stories about Billy. He was my neighbor for 12 years, in addition to being my friend. The first house he had overlooked Universal Studios. That's where I lived, too--we shared the same driveway. Later, he moved to Sunset Canyon, right above Le Dome, and that was his home away from home. "He was the one who introduced me to the horse racing world, to Bill Shoemaker and those guys. Le Dome was their hangout. And now their hangout is Il Piccolino. We had a fantastic week during the Breeders' Cup -- and all of that, from John Magnier to Michael Tabor, was because Billy introduced us. "One of my favorite stories about Billy is when he turned 40, and he decided to give himself a party at Le Dome. He rented out the whole place. He said, 'I want pasta, I want caviar, I want Cristal Roederer. I'm inviting 130 people.' So we made a deal. I told him that, since he was my friend, that I wasn't going to charge him full price for the Cristal, because that would be very expensive, and that I would give it to him at cost. So 130 people came, and it was a lot of noise, and this and that. All of the sudden, I get a phone call from Palm Springs. It was the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Sinatra himself. He said, 'Eddie, I know I was invited to Billy's 40th birthday party, but I couldn't make it. But, do me one favor: give me the check.' And that's what I did, and he picked up the check for Billy's party. Of course, I didn't tell Billy until the day after, because he would have done more damage! "With Sangster gone, Charles Benson gone, Billy gone...it's the end of an era."
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