Glenn Delahoussaye, whose stable has been a mainstay in South Louisiana for more than 40 years, is retiring from training at the end of the month, he said Wednesday.
Delahoussaye plans to remain active in the industry as an adviser to clients and on Friday will be working the Breeders Sales of Louisiana yearling auction and mixed session in Opelousas, La.
He said his owners are in the process of turning over the racing-age horses in his care to his longtime assistant, Jason Faul. Delahoussaye, 67, said the decision to retire from training was not made overnight.
“They told me I would know when it’s time and I just have that feeling that it’s time,” he said. “I’m going to stay involved with the people in the industry. I’m going to do some sales representation for clients and I’m going to do some consulting, but I just don’t want to be married to the barn anymore.
“The one thing [training] will do is, it takes [up] time, a lot of time, and as human beings the two most precious gifts we possess are time and health. I’m so fortunate I’m healthy. I play tennis. I still ride horses. I swim. I’m so blessed. I’m in that grateful state and I think it’s a good time to do this, and most of all, I want Jason to succeed because he deserves that.”
Faul has been with Delahoussaye for 25 years.
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Delahoussaye said he will continue serving the final two years of his term on the board of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.
He also will remain active as the president of Turning Point of Acadiana.
“It’s a non-profit organization in Lafayette,” he said. “We provide a facility, free of charge, for the recovery community to have meetings, to have functions, and to meet with [sponsors]. That’s part of my life away from the track.”
Delahoussaye also serves on a committee for the Louisiana State University Veterinary School. The committee concerns construction of a new veterinary clinic in Louisiana. It will serve a number of equine industries, including racing.
“It’s a state-of-the-art, $50 million facility,” Delahoussaye said. “It’s going to be coming soon. Our goal is to have the premier equine facility in the South.
“If I’m asked to serve to help the industry, I’m there because the industry has given me everything.”
Delahoussaye is the son of Junius Delahoussaye, a highly successful trainer in Louisiana who was noted for his work with 2-year-olds. His son followed in his footsteps and also built a reputation for developing young talent.
Glenn Delahoussaye has won three runnings of the D.S. “Shine” Young Memorial Futurity at Evangeline, with one of his latest winners the talented Pickett. His long list of 2-year-old stakes winners includes Cathie’s Gold, who had success at Delta Downs, Toro Bravo and Sizzlin South.
Costa Rising was a 10-time stakes winner for Delahoussaye, including two runnings of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds.
“We had a lot of fun with him,” he said. “Track record holder, multiple stakes winner, right at a million dollars in earnings. He was just a nice, nice type of horse.”
Delahoussaye’s first winner as a trainer came in 1981 at Jefferson Downs with a horse owned by his father-in-law, while his final winner as a trainer came on the closing-night card last month at Evangeline Downs with a horse owned by his wife of 43 years, Denise.
“We started it off with the father-in-law and ended it with the daughter,” Delahoussaye said. “Just a lot of things were telling me, ‘Okay, Glenn, this is the right decision.’ ”
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