Ralph Irwin enjoying time away from track

Trainer Ralph Irwin has been notably absent from the entries this year, beginning with the Oaklawn Park meet that wrapped in May and now at Louisiana Downs. It’s the first time the 69-year-old has ever been away from the track as he grew up in a racing family.

Irwin’s father, R.L. “Bob” Irwin, was a former assistant to the late Hall of Fame trainer Marion Van Berg and a winner of three training titles at Oaklawn. Ralph Irwin worked for his father and later the late Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg before taking out his trainer’s license in 1975 at Oaklawn.

Irwin said he decided to close down his entire public racing stable shortly after he lost a major client in November. He is open to a return to training, but said it would have to be under the right circumstances. Irwin’s last starters came Sept. 26 and his last win Sept. 19, all at Louisiana Downs.

“I miss the people tremendously,” he said. “If something were to work out and somebody offered me something I’d go, but right now, I am just thoroughly enjoying spending time with family.”

Irwin, who is living in Hot Springs, Ark., also said he misses the horses. Popular runners for the barn included half-siblings Tortuga Straits and Tortuga Flats – with whom Irwin won a combined 13 stakes – and The Pickett Factor, a past winner of the Prelude at Louisiana Downs and the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds.

Irwin’s first win as a trainer came in 1975 at Detroit Race Course. He has been a regular at both Louisiana Downs and Oaklawn dating back to the mid-1970s. Irwin, an old-school horseman widely respected on the backstretch, operated a public racing stable of about 15 to 20 horses.

“I tried to stay 15 or below,” he said. “I didn’t want to split the stable. I wanted to be at my barn at all times.”

These days, Irwin has been splitting his time between home and the road. He and his wife, Pam, just returned from a trip to Florida and are headed next to Nebraska.