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

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, 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 know ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

trainer.

Biography

Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in

Stanton, Kentucky Stanton is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Powell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,251 in the 2020 census. Stanton is the birthplace of Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse trainer Woody Stephens. History T ...

, he had a younger brother named William Ward Stephens who also became a successful trainer. Woody Stephens started in racing as a

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 ...

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 the Wst End section of Long Branch, New Jersey. H ...

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 race The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

s, 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 Frida ...

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. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

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 The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

. 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, th ...

five times, plus the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

twice and the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

once, he is most remembered for winning an unprecedented five straight

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

from 1982 to 1986. Stephens was elected to the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

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

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Midway, Kentucky Midway is a Home rule, home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, Woodford County, Kentucky, in the United States. Its population was 1,741 at the time of the year 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan St ...

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

Miami Lakes, Florida Miami Lakes, officially the Town of Miami Lakes, is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,467. History ...

, from complications of chronic

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

10 days shy of his 85th birthday.

Awards

; U.S. Triple Crown race winners *

: **1974 : Cannonade **1984 : Swale *

: **1952 : Blue Man *

: **1982 : Conquistador Cielo **1983 : Caveat **1984 : Swale **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 racehorse trainers Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Stanton, Kentucky