Retired Trainer Billy Buck Dead at 92

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Retired California trainer William "Billy" Buck died of a heart attack March 23 at his home in Jamestown, Calif. Buck had spent the afternoon gardening.

Buck was a jockey at Tijuana in the 1920s, and a mentor to George Woolf. The two men met in Canada as teenagers riding in the region's bullring-style tracks. They later headed to Tijuana. Later, when weight became a problem, Buck turned to training.

Buck was based at Pleasanton, but also traveled to Washington Park and Thistledown. One of his biggest winners was 1946 Bay Meadows Derby victor War Spun.

He is survived by wife of 70 years, Dorothy, and their son George. Woolf served as George Buck's godfather.

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