LAUREL PARK

Maryland horseman Eddie Gaudet dies

Longtime Maryland horseman Eddie Gaudet died Thursday afternoon at his Upper Marlboro home from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87.

Gaudet grew up in Leominster, Mass., and began riding horses at the county fairs at age 11. He rode in Florida in the 1950s before moving to Maryland and turning to training in 1959. Gaudet went on to win 1,735 races.

He is survived by his wife, respected horsewoman Linda Gaudet, and daughters Lacey, 29, and Gabby, 26.

At the end of 2011 Gaudet retired from training and turned over the stable to Linda and Lacey, who are now based at Laurel Park and race as Team Gaudet.

Gabby, a nationally known racing analyst, is covering the Gulfstream Park meeting for the TVG Network.

Eddie Gaudet was based for decades at Bowie Race Track, which continued as a training center after it ceased racing in 1985. His better horses include Concealed Identity, Star Touch, and At Arms Length.

Concealed Identity won the 2010 Maryland Juvenile Championship, 2011 Tesio Stakes, and 2011 Find Stakes. He finished 10th in the Preakness. Concealed Identity went on to win the 2013 John B. Campbell for Linda Gaudet.

Star Touch won the Grade 2 General George at Laurel Park in 1991. At Arms Length won the 1971 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico.

Gaudet, outgoing and quick with a joke, was instrumental in launching the career of Mike Luzzi, the Eclipse Awardwinning apprentice rider of 1989. Linda and Lacey Gaudet similarly helped Mike’s son Lane begin his riding career in Maryland in 2015.

Mike Luzzi, who is at Oaklawn Park, has gone on to win 3,482 races, the majority on the New York circuit. He lived on the Gaudet’s farm at the beginning of the career.

“He had a great sense of humor and was a super, super horseman,” Luzzi said. “One thing he gave me was confidence. I wasn’t as polished as some of the other guys, but he made me believe in myself.

“I used to help him with the farm work when I lived there. From sun-up to sundown, Eddie was always working on something.”

Services for Gaudet will be private. A celebration of his life is being planned.