ARCADIA, Calif.—Speaking by phone from his Louisiana home, Eddie Delahoussaye won’t be at Santa Anita Friday to present a trophy for the race named in his honor, the Eddie D Stakes.
Currently his primary focus is on his wife, Juanita, who is undergoing an extensive recovery from complicated foot surgery.
The Hall of Fame jockey soldiers on after turning 71 just last Wednesday, Sept. 21.
He remains active in the racing industry as a commissioner of the Louisiana Racing Commission and a member of the board of directors of the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation.
Delahoussaye won the Kentucky Derby back-to-back in 1982 and 1983 on Gato Del Sol trained by Gregson and Sunny’s Halo for trainer David Cross Jr. after finishing second in the 1981 Derby on 34-1 outsider Woodchopper, who rallied from 20th in a field of 21 to lose by less than a length in a signature Eddie D. come-from-behind effort.
He won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes with Risen Star (son of Secretariat). And, won the Belmont a second time in 1992 aboard A.P. Indy.
Winner of Santa Anita’s George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1981 and inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1993, Delahoussaye retired in January 2003 as a result of injuries to his head and neck suffered in a fall at Del Mar. Over a 34-year career, he won 6,384 races earning $195,881,170.
Absent or present, Delahoussaye forever remains one of the most popular jockeys ever to ride in The Golden State.
His countless fans and friends wish him well.
Interview with Delahoussaye in 2010 at Santa Anita
Santa Anita Press Release
Photo: A.P. Indy with Eddie Delahoussaye up heading to the post parade at the 1992 Belmont Stakes and Delahoussaye’s second Belmont win. (Wikimedia) Commons
