Former trainer Eddie Plesa Sr. dies at 90

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Eddie Plesa Sr., whose son, trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., is a mainstay on the New Jersey and south Florida circuits, died Thursday. He was 90.

The elder Plesa left home at age 12 and won his first race as a jockey a year later at Ak Sar Ben. He was the second trainer to come through the stablegate when Calder Race Course opened in 1970 and had horses for such notable owners as Fred Hooper Jr. and Ollie Cohen’s Crown Stable before retiring in 2011 with 410 career victories. His best horses over the years included Cute Sketch, Bazoom, and Shuffle Dance.

“We always had a home down here, and when Calder opened, he made his living here,” the younger Plesa said. “He was a great teacher.”