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

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington) is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

trainer and owner. The son of

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

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, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. 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 Pr ...

. 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

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

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. 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 Barry K. Schwartz (born May 25, 1942) is an American businessman, co-founder of Calvin Klein Inc., thoroughbred racehorse owner, and a former horse racing industry executive. Biography Schwartz's father, a grocer, was murdered when Barry was t ...

, former CEO of

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

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 July 2025, Plesa ranks 64th overall in all-time career earnings for trainers at $64,579,375.

References

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