George Woolf
Encyclopedia
George Monroe Woolf nicknamed "The Ice Man", was a Canadian
-born thoroughbred
race horse jockey
and the namesake of the annual jockey's award given by the United States
Jockeys' Guild
.
Born on a ranch
in Cardston
, Alberta
, his mother had been a trick rider in a circus
and his father rode in rodeo
s. As such, Woolf was taught to ride horses as a child and as a teenager he rode in horse races
and competed in rodeo
events in Alberta and Montana
. He began racing thoroughbreds professionally in 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia before going to Tijuana, Mexico and then to Arcadia, California
where he would make his permanent home.
Using Santa Anita Park
as his home base, George Woolf became one of the premier jockeys of his era known by fellow jockeys and fans as "The Iceman." This nickname was earned by virtue of his renowned patience in waiting for the right time to have his horse make a move in addition to his totally calm attitude even before major races when he would often take a nap
while other jockeys nervously paced about.
While he was establishing himself as one of America's leading jockeys, he was diagnosed with what is now known as type 1
diabetes
. Only a few years earlier, before the discovery of insulin
, such a diagnosis would have been a death sentence. Because of his condition, and the nature of diabetes management in the 1930s and 1940s, Woolf had to regulate his weight so as never to be in a position where he would be forced into rapid dieting
. His racing success allowed him to accept only a few mounts each week and for years that kept him in the best possible physical condition. Despite his limited number of races and the fact that he had a relatively short career, George Woolf won ninety-seven major stakes races around the United States including the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes, the American Derby
and the Belmont Futurity Stakes three years running. He made history in 1935 when he rode Azucar to victory in the first $100,000 horse race, the Santa Anita Handicap
, defeating such greats as Equipoise
and Twenty Grand
. Woolf finished second twice at the Kentucky Derby
and won the 1936 Preakness Stakes
. He is also remembered for his tactical performance in the famous 1938 match race
when he rode Seabiscuit
to victory over the heavily favored U.S. Triple Crown
champion War Admiral
in the Pimlico Special
.
During the running of the fourth race at Santa Anita Park on January 3, 1946, George Woolf fell from his horse as he rounded the clubhouse turn. Suffering from a concussion, he was taken to hospital where he died the following day. Both the jockeys in the race and the track stewards reported that they had not witnessed any incident that would have caused such a fall and it is generally believed his diabetic condition may have resulted in him suffering a dizzy spell or fainting.
The shocking death at the age 35 of one of the country's best and most respected jockeys, and a favourite of fans, led to the creation of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
. During his career (1928–1946) Woolf had 3,784 mounts, 721 wins (19.1%), 589 seconds and 468 thirds. Following its creation, George Woolf was an inaugural inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1955 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
in 1956. He was part of the inaugural class inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
in 1976.
When asked which was the best racehorse he'd ever ridden, Woolf answered immediately, "Seabiscuit."
A bronze statue of George Woolf was erected in his honour in the European-style paddock at Santa Anita Park
. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
.
Woolf is mentioned in the movie The Black Stallion
by Francis Ford Coppola
as one of the greatest jockeys of all times.
In the 2003 film, Seabiscuit
, Woolf was portrayed by Hall of Fame
jockey Gary Stevens. Stevens had won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
in 1996.
Marking the 100th anniversary of George Woolf's birth, a life-size equestrian statue is being created for placement in his home town of Cardston, Alberta. The bronze statue depicts Woolf riding Seabiscuit to victory in the 1938 match race against War Admiral. Woolf's birthday is May 31, and the unveiling of the statue is scheduled for July 17, 2010, on the grounds of the Remington Carriage Museum
in Cardston, Alberta
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horse jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
and the namesake of the annual jockey's award given by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jockeys' Guild
Jockeys' Guild
The Jockeys' Guild Inc. is an American trade association based in Lexington, Kentucky, representing thoroughbred horse racing and American quarter horse professional jockeys...
.
Born on a ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
in Cardston
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, his mother had been a trick rider in a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
and his father rode in rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
s. As such, Woolf was taught to ride horses as a child and as a teenager he rode in horse races
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and competed in rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
events in Alberta and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. He began racing thoroughbreds professionally in 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia before going to Tijuana, Mexico and then to Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
where he would make his permanent home.
Using Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
as his home base, George Woolf became one of the premier jockeys of his era known by fellow jockeys and fans as "The Iceman." This nickname was earned by virtue of his renowned patience in waiting for the right time to have his horse make a move in addition to his totally calm attitude even before major races when he would often take a nap
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
while other jockeys nervously paced about.
While he was establishing himself as one of America's leading jockeys, he was diagnosed with what is now known as type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose...
diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
. Only a few years earlier, before the discovery of insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
, such a diagnosis would have been a death sentence. Because of his condition, and the nature of diabetes management in the 1930s and 1940s, Woolf had to regulate his weight so as never to be in a position where he would be forced into rapid dieting
Dieting
Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
. His racing success allowed him to accept only a few mounts each week and for years that kept him in the best possible physical condition. Despite his limited number of races and the fact that he had a relatively short career, George Woolf won ninety-seven major stakes races around the United States including the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes, the American Derby
American Derby
The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at the city's old Washington Park race track and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed and the track demolished....
and the Belmont Futurity Stakes three years running. He made history in 1935 when he rode Azucar to victory in the first $100,000 horse race, the Santa Anita Handicap
Santa Anita Handicap
The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up , and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season...
, defeating such greats as Equipoise
Equipoise (horse)
Equipoise was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut bred in the United States by Harry Payne Whitney and owned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney...
and Twenty Grand
Twenty Grand
Twenty Grand was an American thoroughbred race horse. Owned and bred by Helen Hay Whitney's Greentree Stable, Twenty Grand was a bay colt by St. Germans out of Bonus.- Racing career :Trained at age three by James G. Rowe, Jr...
. Woolf finished second twice at the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
and won the 1936 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. He is also remembered for his tactical performance in the famous 1938 match race
Match race
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...
when he rode Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
to victory over the heavily favored U.S. Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
champion War Admiral
War Admiral
War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...
in the Pimlico Special
Pimlico Special
The Pimlico Special is an American thoroughbred horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. It is raced on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles . The race is currently open to horses age three and older and offers a purse of $250,000.The Pimlico Special was first run in...
.
During the running of the fourth race at Santa Anita Park on January 3, 1946, George Woolf fell from his horse as he rounded the clubhouse turn. Suffering from a concussion, he was taken to hospital where he died the following day. Both the jockeys in the race and the track stewards reported that they had not witnessed any incident that would have caused such a fall and it is generally believed his diabetic condition may have resulted in him suffering a dizzy spell or fainting.
The shocking death at the age 35 of one of the country's best and most respected jockeys, and a favourite of fans, led to the creation of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
. During his career (1928–1946) Woolf had 3,784 mounts, 721 wins (19.1%), 589 seconds and 468 thirds. Following its creation, George Woolf was an inaugural inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1955 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
in 1956. He was part of the inaugural class inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
in 1976.
When asked which was the best racehorse he'd ever ridden, Woolf answered immediately, "Seabiscuit."
A bronze statue of George Woolf was erected in his honour in the European-style paddock at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
Woolf is mentioned in the movie The Black Stallion
The Black Stallion (film)
The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a desert island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends...
by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
as one of the greatest jockeys of all times.
In the 2003 film, Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (film)
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
, Woolf was portrayed by Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey Gary Stevens. Stevens had won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
in 1996.
Marking the 100th anniversary of George Woolf's birth, a life-size equestrian statue is being created for placement in his home town of Cardston, Alberta. The bronze statue depicts Woolf riding Seabiscuit to victory in the 1938 match race against War Admiral. Woolf's birthday is May 31, and the unveiling of the statue is scheduled for July 17, 2010, on the grounds of the Remington Carriage Museum
Remington Carriage Museum
The Remington Carriage Museum is located alongside the rolling foothills of Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Opened in 1993, and the largest of its kind in the world, the Remington Carriage Museum displays more than 240 carriages. The museum is a public facility providing visitors with an appreciation of...
in Cardston, Alberta
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
.