Noted horseman James R. (Jim) McDonald, 69, dies

Pompano Beach, FL…March 15, 2025…Noted horseman James R. (Jim) McDonald, 69, passed away suddenly at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale after a brief illness..

Born October 12, 1955 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, McDonald became one of the most respected and admired horseman in both his homeland and the United States.

In his career with horses spanning over a half century, he began at Avalon Raceway as a youngster and began driving in his early teens—his “roots” taking hold through his father and grandfather.

“I really loved the horses but the purses were very low back then,” he remembered, “so I thought I’d have to leave my homeland—which I loved—to try and make it where the purses might be a little better and the chances of success were a bit better.”

Longtime horseman Archie McNeil lamented, “I was in partnership with Jimmy’s uncle, Pat McDonald, and he asked me if I  could use some help.

“Of course, I said ‘yes,’ and, the next thing I heard was that Jimmy was on his way down to Florida.”

McDonald’s career in Florida began very humbly as he was, virtually, penniless and when he landed in Miami and slept on the airport grounds before finding his way to Pompano Park to begin his career with McNeil.

“From day one,” Archie said, “Jim proved his worth as a hard worker who learned the trade VERY quickly.

“One horse he worked on was a ‘knee-knocker’ named Macatross, a REAL “knee-knocker”…just about every stride he took.

“Jimmy got him straightened out and we won well over $100,000…and that was back in the early (19)80’s)“

Years ago, in an interview, McDonald gave all the credit to the iconic horseman Aime Choquette saying, “…he gave me this book on working with problem horses and I really got into that book and it taught me just about everything I needed to know about problem horses!”

Over the years, he worked with, mainly, “overnight” stock with some stake winners like G’s Independence and “Open” horses such as Agedcheddar Hanover, to name just a couple.

During the off-season, he had a hand in the continuing success of horses like Hyperion Hanover and McWicked.

“One of my favorites was Macadream,” he recalled.

“I had him from ‘start to finish’ crossing two centuries (1993-2004) who won 66 races and took his mark (1:52f) at Pompano Park…at age 12!

“He made around $330,000 just grinding away as hard as he could every single start (248 of them).

“He was some racehorse!”

USTA records from 1977 on show McDonald won 1,021 races as a driver and 1,567 as a trainer, plying that trade since the year 2000, leaving the driving chores to Hall of Fame horseman Wally Hennessey.

In using Hennessey, McDonald’s reasoning came down to this famous quote, “When Wally is in YOUR bike, he can’t beat you with somebody else’s horse.”

Lauded for his generosity of knowledge to other trainers, Jim McDonald became an icon among his peers, as well.

As Hennessey said, “Jimmy Mac was a gentleman—a gentle man—to his family and friends, both human and equine—whose acts and deeds will be cherished always.”

Survivors include his wife, Dona, mother Madeline, brothers Carl (Angie), Gordon (Chris), Gary (Sue), Doug (Gay) and Jerry, sisters Betty (Dave), Brenda (Paddy) and Sharon, sons Jamie and John and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral and memorial details are pending.

by John Berry