He retired from riding in June 2002 and served as a consultant to the film "Seabiscuit" during the winter of 2002-03.
Eighteen months after his appointment, Chris McCarron will step down as general manager of Santa Anita Park. He will remain in a management role as vice president of industry relations for parent company Magna Entertainment Corp.George Haines, currently Santa Anita's assistant general manager, will be promoted to general manager. Haines, a 33-year employee of Santa Anita, will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of Santa Anita Park. "In the process of refining our specific roles at the track, it became obvious that George Haines was the most natural choice for the critical position of general manager," Jack McDaniel, Santa Anita's president, said in a statement. "I'm pretty humbled to say the least," Haines said. "With my sense of Santa Anita history, being named general manager means so much to me. To work with the best is a great privilege."Haines was director of pari-mutuel operations from 1984 to 1999. His father, George, also was manager of mutuels from 1954 to 1984."Chris is the face of racing for Magna," McDaniel said of McCarron. "Extending his reach to all of the Magna properties while continuing his invaluable contributions to Santa Anita and the California Horse Racing industry will be a tremendous benefit to us and all of our other tracks."The Hall of Fame jockey took over for F. Jack Liebau as general manager in April 2003.