Woody Stephens (September 1, 1913 – August 22, 1998) was an American

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 ...

Hall of Fame trainer.

Biography

Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, he had a younger brother named

William Ward Stephens William Ward "Bill" Stephens (November 21, 1922 – July 10, 1987) 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. Steph ...

who also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens 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 Harry Frank Guggenheim (August 23, 1890 – January 22, 1971) was an American businessman, diplomat, publisher, philanthropist, aviator, and horseman. Early life He was born August 23, 1890, in West End, New Jersey. He was the second son of Flo ...

as head trainer for his Cain Hoy Stable. The move proved very successful, with Stephens training several champions and winning a number of major stakes races, including the

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 at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

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, Stephens trained eleven

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

winners, and his horses won over a hundred Grade 1 stakes races. Among his most notable horses 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

for

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

five times, plus the Kentucky Derby twice and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also 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 () o ...

once, he is most remembered for winning an unprecedented five straight Belmont Stakes from 1982 to 1986. 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 he often wore rumpled clothes, his earnings from racing plus investments in successful breeding stock made him a very wealthy man. In 1985 Doubleday published ''Guess I'm Lucky'', an autobiography he wrote with James Brough.

Personal life, death

Stephens was a residentArchived a
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Midway, Kentucky Midway is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, in the United States. Its population was 1,641 at the time of the year 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town sits just off ...

, where he started his work with Thoroughbred horses. He died in 1998 in

Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes is a suburb of Miami, an incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. US Census, 31,628 people live in Miami Lakes. History The development was constructed by Sengra (now the ...

, from complications of chronic emphysema 10 days shy of his 85th birthday.

Awards

; U.S. Triple Crown race winners * Kentucky Derby: **1974 :

Cannonade Cannonade (May 12, 1971 – August 3, 1993) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1974 Kentucky Derby. Background Owned and bred by prominent businessman John M. Olin, Cannonade was foaled at Gainesway Farm i ...

**1984 :

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

: **1952 : Blue Man * Belmont Stakes: **1982 : Conquistador Cielo **1983 : Caveat **1984 :

**1985 : Creme Fraiche **1986 : Danzig Connection

References

* Woody Stephens autobiography ''Guess I'm Lucky! My Life in Horseracing'' (1985) Doubleday
Woodford Stephens at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Woody 1913 births 1998 deaths American horse trainers Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Stanton, Kentucky