Woodard brings fresh outlook for return to racetrack

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Joe Woodard just couldn’t stay away.

“The horses, they get in your blood,” said Woodard, who recently restarted a small public stable at the High Pointe training center near LaGrange, Ky., after being out of racing for more than two years. “It doesn’t go away. You can ignore it all you want, but it’s still there.”

Woodard, 51, grew up in Louisville and began training in his late 20s, with his first winner coming in 1997. He would go on to work primarily for local automobile dealer Billy Hays as they became the dominant owner-trainer team for years at River Downs (now Belterra Park) in Cincinnati. His career highs came in 2010, when he won 254 races, fifth-most in North America, and in 2011, when stable earnings were more than $1.8 million.

Perhaps Woodard’s most notable career feat, however, came at the 2005 Churchill Downs spring meet, when he won with 10 straight starters, a record that still stands.

“We were rolling along, having a lot of fun, running a lot of winners,” Woodard said. “I’m still good friends with Billy. Our time in the game just ran its course.”

Woodard, with 1,523 career wins, has saddled two starters at Churchill this month, his first since February 2017.

“A couple of friends wanted to get in the business and talked me into claiming a couple of horses, so here we are,” he said. “I’d like to have five, maybe 10 horses, but I don’t intend to get back in like I was before.”

Woodard owns a home-inspection company and dabbles in “flipping houses” after having a sour experience with owning a sports bar/restaurant for about a year.

“I didn’t think there was anything tougher than the horse business,” he said, “but that was.”

Woodard’s first starter since his return, Chief Know It All, finished last in a race here June 6, but there was a silver lining. Woodard had claimed the horse for himself for $16,000 on May 17 and lost him via the claim box for $32,000.

“I’m glad to be back in action,” he said. “Toward the end with Billy, it had gotten to where we had nothing but cheap horses. It wasn’t any fun anymore, just a lot of work. I needed a break. Now I’m ready to have fun again.”