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ROBERT JOSEPH
"Joe"
WOODARD 
has been
training racehorses professionally for over ten
years. A native of Kentucky, he graduated from
Trinity High School before pursuing further education in
the field of Criminal Justice at the University of
Louisville.
For Joe, the road
to Churchill Downs started in high school when he
started walking horses. Later, he purchased some
claiming horses with a few friends, enjoyed some success
with them, and took out his trainer's license in
1992. In 1993, he began training horses belonging
to a few other small partnerships of horse
owners.
In 1997, as a
result of his success with these horses of humble
beginnings, Joe was hired by Billy Hays, a Louisville
auto dealer, as a private trainer. Mr Hays'
interest was primarily in claiming horses with a
reasonable chance of improvement, and so Joe and Billy
set out to build a racing stable. The statistics
prove Joe's success with Billy's horses. From 1997
to 2003, the number of horses started in a race rose
from 17 to 397. In 1997, Joe and Billy had two
winners, five seconds and two thirds for total earnings
of $38,526. In 2003, Joe and Billy racked up 73
wins, 62 seconds and 45 thirds, for total earnings of
$790,108, putting Joe's total percentage of 45% money
winners well ahead of the average for all trainers of
31%. To date, in 2004, Joe's record is
46-40-44.
Joe Woodard was
the leading trainer for both meets at River Downs in
2003 and 2004. In 2002, Joe finished second at
Turfway Park with 22 winners. Billy Hays won a
number of owner's titles -- in both 2003 and 2004, Billy
won titles for both meets at River Downs, the Turf Club
Meet and the Jockey Club Meet. He was also listed
as the leading owner at Turfway Park for
2002.
As of this date,
Joe has trained more than 250 winners, including winners
of several stakes races. In 2002, Joe trained Art
Fair to a win in the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at Turfway
Park. In 2001, Little Lee won the Marfa Stakes at
Turfway Park, and Winning Connection won the West
Virginia Governor's Handicap at Mountaineer Park.
In 2000, Launch a Double won the Prairie Gold Lassie
Stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Joe moved on in
2004 to open a public stable, in addition to continuing
to train horses for Billy Hays. To date, he has
eight other horses, owned by Fortex Stables, Scott
Bennett, DVM, and Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey.
Joe's stable, Joe
Woodard Racing, is based at Churchill Downs and
relocates to Florida to race in the winter months.
Joe also developed, and owns, Diamond W Farm in
Shelbyville, KY.
Let Joe put you
and your horse in the Winner's Circle! Call Joe
Woodard Racing at (502) 741-1524 today!
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