Williard Lee Proctor (December 11, 1915 – October 30, 1998) was an American

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 trainer. A longtime trainer in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, he began his career as a

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 ...

at bush tracks in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. After his riding days were over he turned to training, moving to California in 1955. From then through to his retirement in 1996 he conditioned 58 stakes winners. A 2003 inductee in the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the

Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes The Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late May at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Open to two-year-old horses, it was contested on dirt over a distance of five and one half ...

Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to: Places United States * Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California * Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois * Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and m ...

is named in his honor. His son

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

is a trainer. In 1972, Convenience, trained by Willard Proctor, defeated Typecast in a $250,000 winner-take-all

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

in front of 53,575 fans at Hollywood Park.Hollywood Park "Introduction" PDF file
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Willard L. 1915 births 1998 deaths American racehorse trainers People from Lampasas, Texas