Edward "Eddie" Plesa Jr. (born April 25, 1949, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington) is a

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer and owner. The son of

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

and trainer Edward Plesa Sr., he is married to Laurie and has three children including Luke, Kyle, and Kelsey. The couple currently reside in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

. Eddie Plesa is the brother-in-law to Smarty Jones trainer,

John Servis John C. Servis (born October 25, 1958 in Charles Town, West Virginia) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was relatively unknown until May 2004 when his horse Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby. The colt then went on to win the Pre ...

. Eddie Plesa is the son of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrants and was raised in Miami, Florida. His Plesa Racing Stables, is based at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park Racetrack's satellite training facility during the winter months and Monmouth Park in New Jersey during the summer months. He also has horses in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Plesa's most successful horses include Three Ring, Best of the Rest, BB Best, Hey Byrn, Gottcha Gold, and Itsmyluckyday among others. Among Plesa's diverse clientele, one includes Barry K. Schwartz, former CEO of

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

and Chairman of the NYRA. Plesa is the brother-in-law to trainer

. Eddie Plesa served a two-year term as vice president of the Florida Horsemen's' Benevolent and Protective Association, and has been elected to the board once again in 2014. In 2007 he was inducted into the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame. As of August 2023, Plesa ranks 31st overall in all-time career earnings for trainers at 2,484.

References

Eddie Plesa Jr. at the NTRA
1959 births American people of Italian descent American people of Romanian descent American horse trainers Sportspeople from Seattle Living people {{US-horseracing-bio-stub