Woody Stephens
Encyclopedia
Woody Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing
Hall of Fame
trainer
.
Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky
, his younger brother William Ward Stephens
also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a jockey
at age 16 but within a few years switched to training horses. After working as an assistant for several years, in the late 1930s he started training on his own, taking on horses from various owners. Near the end of the 1950s he was hired by the wealthy Harry Guggenheim as head trainer for his Cain Hoy Stable
. The moved proved very successful, with Stephens training several champions and winning a number of major stakes races including the Kentucky Oaks
three times. He remained with the Guggenheim operation for ten years before returning to run his own stable again in 1966.
In a career that spanned seven decades, Woody Stephens trained eleven Eclipse Award
winners and his horses won over a hundred Grade 1 stakes races. Among his most notable was Henryk de Kwiatkowski's
colt Conquistador Cielo
, the winner of the 1982 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
. Although Stephens trained horses that won the Kentucky Oaks
for fillies
five times, plus the Kentucky Derby
twice and the Preakness Stakes
once, he is most remembered for winning an unprecedented five straight Belmont Stakes
between 1982 and 1986.
Woody Stephens was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1976. In 1983, he won the Eclipse Award as the top trainer in the United States. Although always seen as an ordinary guy in rumpled clothes, his earnings from racing plus investments in successful breeding stock made him a very wealthy man.
Woody Stephens died in 1998 in Miami Lakes, Florida
from complications of chronic emphysema
10 days shy of his 85th birthday.
U.S. Triple Crown race
winners:
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
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...
trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
.
Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky
Stanton, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,029 people, 1,222.5 households, and 856.6758 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,538.0 people per square mile . There were 1,340 housing units at an average density of 680.4 per square mile...
, his younger brother William Ward Stephens
William Ward Stephens
William Ward "Bill" Stephens was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. A younger brother to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Woody Stephens, he was often referred to as "Bill" by the media....
also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens first started in racing as a 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:...
at age 16 but within a few years switched to training horses. After working as an assistant for several years, in the late 1930s he started training on his own, taking on horses from various owners. Near the end of the 1950s he was hired by the wealthy Harry Guggenheim as head trainer for his Cain Hoy Stable
Cain Hoy Stable
Cain Hoy Stable was a Thoroughbred racing stable and horse breeding operation with training facilities in Columbia, South Carolina and Kissimmee, Florida. It was owned by Harry Guggenheim who also raced horses in Europe...
. The moved proved very successful, with Stephens training several champions and winning a number of major stakes races including the Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
three times. He remained with the Guggenheim operation for ten years before returning to run his own stable again in 1966.
In a career that spanned seven decades, Woody Stephens trained eleven Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
winners and his horses won over a hundred Grade 1 stakes races. Among his most notable was Henryk de Kwiatkowski's
Henryk de Kwiatkowski
Henryk Richard de Kwiatkowski was a Polish-born member of the Royal Air Force who became an aeronautical engineer and made a fortune in business in North America and who owned Calumet Farm, one of the most prestigious Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farms in the United States.Born in...
colt Conquistador Cielo
Conquistador Cielo
Conquistador Cielo was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Purchased as a yearling for $150,000 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski, he was trained by Woody Stephens. Racing as a two-year-old, Conquistador Cielo won two races in his four starts...
, the winner of the 1982 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
. Although Stephens trained horses that won the Kentucky Oaks
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
for fillies
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
five times, plus 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...
twice and the 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...
once, he is most remembered for winning an unprecedented five straight Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
between 1982 and 1986.
Woody Stephens was elected to 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 1976. In 1983, he won the Eclipse Award as the top trainer in the United States. Although always seen as an ordinary guy in rumpled clothes, his earnings from racing plus investments in successful breeding stock made him a very wealthy man.
Woody Stephens died in 1998 in Miami Lakes, Florida
Miami Lakes, Florida
Miami Lakes is a Miami suburban incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
from complications of chronic emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
10 days shy of his 85th birthday.
U.S. Triple Crown race
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...
winners:
- Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe 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...
:- 1974 : CannonadeCannonadeFor the cannon see CarronadeCannonade was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby. Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
- 1984 : SwaleSwale (horse)Swale was an American thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known for winning the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1984...
- 1974 : Cannonade
- Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe 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...
:- 1952 : Blue ManBlue Man (horse)Blue Man was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Preakness Stakes.He was bred by Allen T. Simmons at his Lexington, Kentucky horse farm, a property that had been part of the renowned Idle Hour Stock Farm. Blue Man's dam was Poppycock, a granddaughter of the great Man o' War...
- 1952 : Blue Man
- Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
:- 1982 : Conquistador CieloConquistador CieloConquistador Cielo was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Purchased as a yearling for $150,000 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski, he was trained by Woody Stephens. Racing as a two-year-old, Conquistador Cielo won two races in his four starts...
- 1983 : CaveatCaveat (horse)Caveat was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. Bred in Maryland) by Ryehill Farm, he was sired by Kentucky Derby winner Cannonade out of The Axe II mare, Cold Hearted...
- 1984 : SwaleSwale (horse)Swale was an American thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known for winning the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1984...
- 1985 : Creme FraicheCreme Fraiche (horse)Creme Fraiche was an American thoroughbred gelding racehorse. He was sired by Rich Cream, co-holder of the world record of 1:19.40 for 7 furlongs on dirt in the 1980 Triple Bend Handicap, out of the Terrible Tiger mare, Likely Exchange.Bred by Pamela Firman and her nephew, G...
- 1986 : Danzig ConnectionDanzig ConnectionDanzig Connection is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning an American Classic race.Owned and bred by Henryk de Kwiatkowski under his Kennelot Stables banner, Danzig Connection was sired by Kwaitkowski's champion, Danzig, and out of the mare Gdynia...
- 1982 : Conquistador Cielo