Mouton nears big milestone

As a young man, Patrick Mouton had planned on becoming a veterinarian. But he said the advanced chemistry proved too much, and he completed his college career with a degree in animal science. From there, he pursued a training career that has since spanned more than 40 years.

Mouton has logged so much time in the sport, in fact, that his pending milestone of 1,000 career training wins likely has already been achieved. Mouton began training in 1970, which pre-dates by six years the start of the racing industry’s computerized database of such records. Prior to 1976, annual win and start records are available in old issues of the American Racing Manual.

Mouton, 69, said he is going with the flow on this one, and that means he entered Friday’s races at Louisiana Downs just 10 wins from the mark of 1,000. Mouton got his start in racing at the original Evangeline Downs in Carencro, La. He spent 12 years there before moving on to Fair Grounds in New Orleans. His circuit now is divided between Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs, the Bossier City track where he first raced in 1979.

Mouton has a 20-horse stable at Louisiana Downs this meet, with stakes winners Palmy Bay and Foreign Girl eyeing Louisiana Cup races at the track Aug. 2 and Louisiana Flyboy a candidate for the $150,000 A. L. “Red” Erwin on the same program.

Mouton was born near Lafayette, La., and grew up on his grandfather’s 3,000-acre cattle and rice operation. But since childhood, he’d been exposed to racing.

“My dad had horses as long as I can remember,” Mouton said. “He didn’t train. He owned them. My dad and my grandfather [owned them]. My original goal was to be a veterinarian. The advanced chemistry got to me. I just couldn’t hack it.”

Mouton, however, still minored in science. From there, he was off to the races.

“When I got my degree, I went straight to the racetrack with it,” he said.

Mouton has won 990 races from 7,495 starters for stable earnings of $20,740,958 since 1976. He’s won 63 stakes during that same period with such horses as The Beter Man Can, Mikimoto’s Mojo, Ruby’s Grand Slam, Precious Kiss, Ida Marie, and Daphne Angela. His first big horse was Cathy Quick, who gave him his first stakes win as a trainer.

Mouton’s best year at the track was 2007, when he won 82 races and had stable earnings of $3.2 million.