Columnist Ralph Siraco: Eddie D. retires with grace and dignity — like he rode

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 | 8:40 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye left the sport of horse racing last week in the same manor in which he participated for more than four decades.

The 51-year-old Louisiana native retired from the game without fanfare and closed the book on a 36-year riding career with the same quiet dignity and attitude that served him well in a sport full of danger, drama and pressure.

Delahoussaye had not ridden since an Aug. 30 race at Del Mar. In what seemed to be an uneventful one-horse spill, Delahoussaye suffered a concussion and fractured a bone in his neck which had sidelined him from a return to the saddle until last Monday.

Delahoussaye had undergone physical therapy to heal his injuries for more than four months and decided that the Monday appointment with Dr. Dan Capen, an orthopedic specialist, would determine his riding future. After a thorough examination Dr. Capen refused to release Delahoussaye for a return to his profession. Capen told Delahoussaye that he would be "crazy to go back (to riding)" as another blow to the head from another spill could do irreparable damage.

With that, Delahoussaye said "This is it."

As in his riding career and life, Delahoussaye was prepared for the verdict.

"I had a feeling it (retirement) was going to happen," he said. "I've had a great career, I can't complain, I've been very fortunate.'

In counting his blessings -- for not ending up in a wheelchair or worse -- in an outstanding riding career, Delahoussaye ended any hope of a comeback.

Born in New Iberia, La., on September 21, 1951, he first rode quarter horses and mixed breeds at age 10 and began riding thoroughbreds in 1967 at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He rode his first recognized winner on June 29, 1968 aboard Brown Shill at Evangeline Downs in Lafayette, La.

After 11 years riding at the Fair Grounds, Keeneland, Arlington Park and Churchill Downs, Delahoussaye moved his tack to the tough Southern California riding colony in 1979 and quickly won riding titles at Hollywood Park, Del Mar, Santa Anita and Oak Tree meets.

The 1981 George Wolf Memorial Award winner finishes his riding career with 6,384 victories that puts him 11th on the all-time list and only one of 14 jockeys to win more than 6,000 races. He ranks sixth on the all-time earnings list and became only the seventh rider to reach $100 million in career earnings while amassing $195,881,170 from 39,213 lifetime mounts.

Elected to the sport's Hall Of Fame in 1993, Delahoussaye has won five Triple Crown races and is one of only four jockeys to win the Kentucky Derby in back-to-back years. He turned that feat with Gato Del Sol in 1982 and followed up the next year with Sunny's Halo.

He won both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1988 aboard Risen Star and missed the Triple Crown with that runner after encountering traffic troubles in the Derby. He returned to win the 1992 Belmont with A.P. Indy, who later won the Breeders' Cup Classic that year on the way to Horse of the Year honors.

In addition to the Classic of 1992, Delahoussaye won six other Breeders' Cup races. He won the Distaff with Princess Rooney in 1984, the Turf in 1989 with Prized, the 1991 Juvenile Fillies with Pleasant Stage, the 1992 Sprint with Thirty Slews, the 1993 Distaff with Hollywood Wildcat and the 1993 Sprint with Cardmania.

"Eddie D.," as he was called, has undoubtedly won more races by the shortest combined margin than any rider in the sport's history. Known for his subtle urging and his final stretch charges that provided more than a fair share of heart-pumping, nail-biting head-bobbing finishes, Delahoussaye had the incomparable knack of getting his mounts to put their noses in front just in the nick of time.

Recently retired Hall of Famer Chris McCarron tells a tale of the Delahoussaye sound effects. McCarron reflected that Delahoussaye had more crazy chirps and yells to urge his mounts than any rider he has ever competed against. And, McCarron knew that when he heard those sounds, "it was Eddie coming to get ya', and that meant trouble."

Those sounds were sweet music to his backers and legions of fans. Eddie D., you will be missed. Thanks for the memories -- and all those close victories.