Woodrow Sedlacek (June 7, 1919 – July 19, 2004) 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 ...

flat racing 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 p ...

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. Sedlacek is best remembered as the trainer of

Bounding Basque Bounding may refer to: * Establishing limits on the behavior of a process or device, see Listing and approval use and compliance * Bounding overwatch, a variety of military maneuver * A cyclical type of jumping motion See also * Bound (disambi ...

with whom he won one edition of the 1983

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memori ...

, and in 1985 the

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-ol ...

, the

Massachusetts Handicap The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", was a flat thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was an ungraded stakes race run o ...

, and equaled the track record for 1¼ miles

Meadowlands Cup The Monmouth Cup Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older run over a distance of miles annually in early July at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event currently offers a purse of $400,000 ...

. Sedlacek started in

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a 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 jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

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 ...

during the 1930s. He was almost killed in a racing accident in 1937 that left him with a plate in his head. In 1945, he began working as a trainer and retired from the sport in 1997 to a home in Florida. Sedlacek died from cancer 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 ...

in 2004 at the age of 85.

References

Thoroughbred Times 2004 obituary for Woody Sedlacek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedlacek, Woody 1919 births 2004 deaths American horse trainers Deaths from cancer in Florida