Riding Career: 1928-1946

Number of Mounts: 3,784
Number of Winners: 721
Winning Percentage: 19.1%


George Woolf rode from 1928 through 1946 and won with 19.1% of his mounts. He was known as The Iceman because he had a habit of "sitting chilly" or waiting till the moment of maximum opportunity. It was a talent that would serve him well.

Woolf's career is all the more impressive when one realizes that he rode comparatively few horses. He averaged 4 to 5 mounts a week because he suffered from diabetes and had to regulate his diet and exercise. When he did ride, he rode some of the finest horses of his era but considered Seabiscuit the best of all.

Significant Mounts
Seabiscuit, Challedon, Alsab
Whirlaway, Devil Diver, Gallorette
Kayak II, Occupation, Occupy
Pavot, Askmenow, By Jimminy
Gallant Sir, Bold Venture, Pompoon

Two of Woolf's most exciting rides came on Seabiscuit. In the 1938 Hollywood Gold Cup, he brought Seabiscuit from 14 lengths back to win the race. In a match with War Admiral later in the year, he used the opposite strategy by outrunning War Admiral from the start.

Principal Races Won
3 consecutive Hollywood Gold Cups, Preakness
3 consecutive Belmont Futurities, J. Club Gold Cup
3 consecutive American Derbys, Brooklyn Hcp.
3 consecutive Havre de Grace Hcps., Agua Caliente Hcp.


George Woolf was the nation's leading stakes-winning jockey 1942-44. In 1946 he was killed in a spill at Santa Anita. In his honor the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is given to the rider who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct.

George Woolf was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1955.

Information provided by Piglett