The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack. Lily Okuru, a Japanese-American woman held at Santa Anita Park, poses with the statue of Seabiscuit, 1942 Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California opened in 1934 and is the oldest and most prestigious horse racetrack in Southern California. ... Arcadia is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... See also: 1949 in sports, 1951 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing NASCAR Championship - Bill Rexford AAA Racing: Henry Banks won the series championship Johnnie Parsons won the Indianapolis 500 Formula One Champion: The first World Championship for drivers under the jurisdiction of the Fédération... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... Toulouse-Lautrec - The Jockey (1899) In sports, a jockey is one who rides horses in thoroughbred horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west...

The award was created through donations from the racing public after the untimely death of Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf. The one-time only award is voted on by members of the Jockeys' Guild who chose from among their peers nominated by Guild regional managers. The trophy that goes along with the award is a one foot-high replica of the life-size statue of George Woolf that, along with a bronze sculpture of his favorite mount, Seabiscuit, has a place of honor in the Santa Anita Paddock Gardens. 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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers. ... George Woolf statue at Santa Anita Park George Monroe Woolf (May 10, 1910 – January 4, 1946) was a Canadian-born thoroughbred race horse jockey and the namesake of the annual jockeys award given by the United States Jockeys Guild. ... Red Pollard on Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933—May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred race horse in the United States. ...

Past winners:

Edgar Prado is a jockey whose horse-racing accomplishments include victories in the 2002 and 2004 Belmont Stakes, in each case aboard a longshot depriving a favorite of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. ... Russell Baze Russell Baze (born August 7, 1958 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born thoroughbred race horse Hall of Fame jockey and the current leading jockey in the United States. ... The jockey of the 2005 Kentucky Derbys winning horse. ... Gary Stevens is an American jockey. ... Kent Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970 in Maurice, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year. ... Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960 in Covington, Kentucky) is an American jockey. ... Chris McCarron (born March 27, 1955 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame retired jockey He was introduced to the sport of thoroughbred racing by his older brother, jockey Gregg McCarron. ... Ron Joseph Morel Turcotte (born July 22, 1941) is a world-famous jockey. ... D. Sanford (Sandy) Hawley, born April 16, 1949 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, is a Hall of Fame jockey. ... Angel Cordero Jr. ... Laffit Pincay Jr. ... Theodore F. Atkinson (June 17, 1916 – May 5, 2005) was a Canadian-born thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. ... Eddie Arcaro (February 19, 1916 - November 4, 1997) was born George Edward Arcaro in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States, the son of an impoverished taxi driver. ... John Eric Longden, born February 14, 1907 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England - died February 14, 2003 in Banning, California, was a Hall of Fame jockey. ... William Lee Shoemaker, (August 19, 1931 _ October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. ...