Jake Delhomme Talks Carolina Panthers ... and Louisiana Horses

Delhomme enjoyed Derby day last year – Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar won the Evangeline Downs Classic. That was one of seven races Touchuponastar won in 2024 en route to being named the Horse of the Year in Louisiana. And thst was just the start. This March, Touchuponastar pulled an upset victory in the New Orleans Classic Stakes, the 6-year-old gelding’s first graded stakes win.

The Delhommes purchased Touchuponastar for $15,000. The horse has more than $1.4 million in career earnings since then.

“It’s been fun,” Delhomme said of seeing Touchuponastar’s success. The $1.4 million earning represents Set-Hut Stable’s most profitable horse, but Delhomme said they’d had others that have earned around $300,000 to $400,000.

Set-Hut usually keeps around 8-12 horses in its stable. The roster currently sits at 11 — some of whom Delhomme has named after former NFL teammates.

There’s Kalil, named for Ryan Kalil, the Panthers starting center from 2007-18. Then there’s Mangum, named for Kris Mangum, who was the Panthers tight end from 1997-2006 and is one of Delhomme’s best friends. Mangum is a multiple stakes winner, though the player he was named after has never seen him race in person.

“He tried to a couple of times,” Delhomme said. “He lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And so, the few times we have run Mangum in New Orleans, that's not that far of a drive for him. He tried to, but something came up.”

Delhomme has yet to name a horse after his most famous teammate — wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. — but he does have a horse named X-Clown. That’s the name of the play in which Delhomme connected with Smith on a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of double overtime in Carolina’s divisional playoff win over the St. Louis Rams in the 2003 postseason.

“X-Clown was kind of named after Steve, because he's synonymous with that play for us in Carolina history,” said Delhomme, adding that the horse actually did remind him of the 5-foot-9, 195-pound receiver. “He was a horse that was kind of muscle-bound,” he said. “Wasn't the tallest horse, but just a really good athlete.”

Three weeks after that iconic play gave Carolina its double-OT playoff victory, Delhomme connected with Muhsin Muhammad on an 85-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXVIII. That record still stands as the longest pass plsy in Super Bowl history.

Delhomme recently tried to name a horse Moose in honor of Muhammad, but the name was taken. He said names can be recycled after 10 years, so he’s waiting on the opportunity to add a Moose to his stable.

Like all former pro athletes, Delhomme’s competitive juices fuel his second career. He puts in the work needed to succeed, and he gets a tremendous rush seeing his horses win. Unlike his playing days, however, Delhomme doesn’t have as much direct control over the action.

“I look at it probably like I’m a general manager,” said Delhomme. “My brother and I, we're the ones doing all the sales. We’re the ones making the final decisions. … Like when we go to a sale, that's a draft. Right? And I'm ultimately responsible. I have the pick. And it's ultimately our decision where we run these horses.

“But it's certainly a gratifying feeling. Watching a horse come down the lane. Winning a race. It’s awesome.”

Celebrating wins or lamenting losses might not be entirely the same with his horses as it used to be with his NFL teammates, but Delhomme does feel a connection with the animals — and he truly believes the horses know what’s happening when they race.

“I promise you,” Delhomme said, “With Touchuponastar, there's been a few times where he has run second in a race. And I'm telling you, he's pissed off. I mean, he knows.

“You might think I'm crazy, but when you're with him every day and you know their mannerisms and everything, you can just feel it. You can sense it and you can sense them. You know, I believe that from the bottom of my heart.”

When Delhomme isn’t working at the stable, he’s focused on his other passion, the Panthers. Delhomme has been doing analysis on Carolina games for radio since 2019, so he remains closely connected with the team.

“I love the direction we're going, to be very honest,” he said. “Listen, it's been a tough stretch the last five to six years. But I think we have stability for the first time in a while.”

The Panthers went 5-12 in Dave Canales’ first year as head coach. The offensive-minded coach worked closely with his young quarterback, 2023 first overall draft pick Bryce Young, and the team clearly became more competitive down the stretch. They took the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles down to the wire in close losses and then won two of their last three.

“The way this team played, the way Bryce Young started playing late in the year, with not a whole lot to play for, we were a team that just kept on strapping up, and we improved as the year went on and we got better. To me, that's a sign of progress.

“I think you'll see marked improvement of this football team this year. Are we a playoff team to make a deep run? I'm not so sure I'm there yet. Yeah, stranger things have happened.”

It’s been 16 years since Delhomme threw a pass for the Panthers, but he still refers to the team as “we.”

“Yeah, I've had some opportunities to do some national stuff,” he said. “But I'm a Carolina Panther, man. I'm a Panther through and through. I'm not saying that somewhere down the line I wouldn't do something like that. But I love doing the radio for the Panthers. I consider myself just an extension of the team.”

While his Panthers obligations wouldn’t interfere with the first Saturday in May, having a horse in the Kentucky Derby is not Delhomme’s ultimate horseracing goal. The Derby is only for 3-year-olds accustomed to Churchill Downs’ turf track.

“That is such a small target to hit,” said Delhomme. “My Super Bowl would be having a horse run in the Breeders' Cup, which is the first Friday and Saturday in November. And that is done at different locations throughout the United States.

“It's the best of the best of 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses. Short, long, dirt, turf. And they come from all over the world. The Breeders' Cup would be the Super Bowl for me.”

Considering Delhomme’s football career took him from undrafted free agent to Super Bowl record-setter, there’s no reason to doubt we’ll see Delhomme and Set-Hut Stable at the Breeders Cup one of these days.