OLDSMAR, Fla. (February 3, 2010) Leigh Delacour has been named the FlameStone Trainer of the Month with four wins and two second place finishes from nine starts in the week of January 27 through February 3; the conditioner’s trainees have won with average odds of 7.5-1.
Born in Annapolis, MD in 1980, Leigh Delacour started working with horses at age 11, galloping at a training center in Davisdsonville, Maryland. At age 16, Delacour began working for trainer Graham Motion at Laurel Park. She attended the University of Virginia but spent every weekend at Laurel galloping for Graham, who encouraged her to continue with college and even gave her a horse to train on her own at places like Charlestown Race and Slots. Delacour said, “It was great – I could actually pay part of my tuition with that horse!”
After graduation, Delacour tried her hand as a professional jockey, and said, “It was fun, but not the career path for me.” After losing her status as an apprentice rider, she called Graham Motion and secured a job as his assistant, travelling everywhere from Canada to California. On her travels, she met her husband Arnaud, who was Christophe Clement’s assistant trainer; the two were working on the same circuit of Keeneland, Saratoga and Gulfstream Park.
The two were married in 2007 and struck out on their own as a training team. In their first year of conditioning horses, Leigh stayed with their sting in Fair Hill, Maryland in the winter while her husband Arnaud Delacour took four horses to Tampa Bay Downs. Leigh said, “We ended up doing pretty well, and I know Arnaud was having a great time down here, so I decided to join him. And it’s been going great ever since! Arnaud and I both train the horses, and we make a good team,” says Delacour. ” Leigh and Arnaud Delacour now have 20 horses in their barn at Tampa Bay Downs and spend their summers at their training base in Fair Hill, Maryland. The top horse in their barn at the moment is Sales Tax, who is nominated for the Grade III Endeavour Stakes here on Festival Preview Day, February 13, 2010.
Finish Lines… Trainer Michael Zwiesler and owner William S. Farish teamed up for two wins on the day’s program; their first win came with Sea Current, a five-year-old Seeking the Gold gelding ridden to victory by Rosemary Homeister, Jr. The duo struck again with Hobby; Farish co-owns the Midway Road colt with J. Hudson, Jr. and this time jockey Ronnie Allen, Jr. had the call.
Racing resumes tomorrow, February 4 with a ten race card; there is a Pick Six carryover of $5,905. Every live racing weekday, the Oldsmar oval offers free Grandstand admission and $1.25 beer specials from 11 AM through 3 PM at concession stands trackwide. The Silks Poker Room is open daily from 12:30 PM through 12:30 AM; the Downs Golf Practice Facility is open on Mondays from 10:00 AM through 10:00 PM and on Tuesdays through Sundays from 8:30 AM through 10:00 PM.