If there’s one thing you can always bet on with Jake Delhomme, it’s that the guy knows how to shake things up. Think about it—he went undrafted in ‘97, spent years riding the bench, switched teams in his sixth season, and then, out of nowhere, took the Panthers to the Super Bowl. Wild, right? But here’s the thing—his surprises aren’t just limited to the football field.

After hanging up his cleats, he didn’t just ride off into the sunset; he galloped into the world of horse racing. The man breeds and races horses, teaming up with his family under the Set-Hut LLC banner. And if you’ve followed Delhomme even after his retirement, then you might be aware of his best mare—Forest Lake, who won several stakes races and retired in 2017. Now, if you’re thinking that he’s done with horse races—think again.

Recently, Delhomme’s undrafted horse, Touchuponastar, just beat the best horse in the world at New Orleans Classics. Yeah, you read that right. The former undrafted QBs ‘undrafted’ horse just clinched a major upset at the New Orleans Classic. “I’m floating on air right now, you know, we’re proud,” Delhomme said after the race. “I mean. Timmy, what a great ride by Timmy. Listen, I’m high as a kite right now. Man, this is awesome. You can feel the emotion, I think you know, being a local horse, I mean, everybody loves him.”

Delhomme paid $15,000 for Touchuponastar, a 6-year-old gelding, five years ago at the yearling. The interesting part? Well, he compared that annual sale to the 1997 NFL draft. The reason? Oh, y’all probably know about that. Delhomme went undrafted in the 1997 NFL draft, and just like him, Touchuponastar wasn’t a highly sought-after horse. There you go.

Fast forward to now, and Touchuponastar took down Hall of Fame, who settled for second, and Sierra Leone—the reigning 3-year-old champ and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner—who had to settle for third, which turned out to be one of the biggest upsets atthe  New Orleans Classic. Talk about cementing your name in multiple sports. And just like going undrafted in ‘97 didn’t stop Delhomme from making a Super Bowl spot for his team, being overlooked didn’t stop Touchuponastar from bagging that $300K win. A chef’s kiss.

“I’m out of breath, I know I can’t play, I promise you that, but it’s awesome,” he said. “I mean love the fractions, yep. Last year was 46 and 11. I was hoping we get 47 and 3, 47 and 4. So excited; I’m happy for the horse. I’m happy for Timmy. I’m happy for everybody.” And why not? I mean, the horse hadn’t run since last November and it was his first race. The result? Touchuponastar defied all the odds and secured an ultimate win at New Orleans Classics.

Jake Delhomme: Securing wins in different fields

“I wanted to catch up to the moment of what it feels like to be on the other side, to be on this side, the losing side,” that’s Jake Delhomme for you, falling just short of doing the unthinkable back in the 2003 season. The Carolina Panthers lost the Super Bowl XXXVIII in a thrilling 32-29 showdown to the New England Patriots. Delhomme’s performance? Ridiculous.

The guy completed 16-of-33 for 323 yards, racking up 3 passing touchdowns, with no interceptions, and a 113.6 passer rating. And oh, he also set a record for the longest offensive play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history when he threw an 85-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad. But unfortunately, Delhomme couldn’t lead his team to the Super Bowl glory.

Fast forward to now, and let’s just say the former NFL legend just recorded the best win of his career. The kicker? Well, Delhomme never expected that classic win from his horse. When asked if he had expected that kind of result, the guy straight up confessed that he didn’t expect a win. “No,” he said while laughing.

“I mean, that was the best horse in the world last year. Now, it was his first race this year, and he hasn’t run since November, so he probably wasn’t 100 percent.” And right after the news hit the headlines of the upset, Delhomme’s phone was blowing up as he started getting phone calls from his friends and co-workers (including the former general manager, Marty Hurney).

Sure, Delhomme wouldn’t expect that result, but at the end of the day, the former Panthers’ legend had the final laugh.