[2] He was a student at the University of Kentucky for a year before he decided focus on pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry.
In 1992 he became the agent for jockey Chris Antley, a job he held until November 1993 when he signed on as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai.
Kiaran McLaughlin, his wife and their two children currently reside in Garden City on Long Island, New York.
In 1995, he shipped Dumaani to Japan and won the $1.5 million Keio Hai Spring Cup at Tokyo Racecourse at odds of 56–1.
[2] On March 12, 2012, McLaughlin earned his 1,000th North American career win at Aqueduct Racetrack with Que Posse.
[2] In 2015, McLaughlin trained Frosted, owned by his oldest client Sheikh Mohammed, to victories in the Wood Memorial and Pennsylvania Derby, also finishing second to American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes.