A life-size bronze statue of Seabiscuit and his jockey, George "The Iceman" Woolf, was unveiled July 17 at the Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Woolf, one of the greatest riders of his era who died soon after a spill on the clubhouse turn at Santa Anita Jan. 13, 1946, was a native of Cardston.
The statue, by Lethbridge artist Don Toney, was commissioned by ranchers Jack and Ida Lowe. It shows Seabiscuit, the rags-to-riches horse who made headlines in the 1930s and was the subject of a best-selling book and movie, in a classic match race with War Admiral that was billed as the "Race of the Century."
The statue is titled "So long, Charley!", the phrase reportedly shouted by Woolf as he and Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral in the Nov. 1, 1938, match race at Pimlico that was witnessed by 40,000 fans and drew a radio audience estiamted at more than 40 million. Woolf rode Seabiscuit in place of his regular rider, Red Pollard, who was injured.
Each year a jockey is selected to receive the George Woolf Award to memorialize the rider. The Woolf trophy is a replica of the full-size statue of the late jockey which adorns Santa Anita’s Paddock Gardens area.
