William Woodward biography
William Woodward, (born April 7, 1876, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Sept. 26, 1953, New York City), American banker and an influential breeder, proprietor, and racer of horses.
Woodward was educated at Groton School, Groton, Mass., and Harvard College and, upon commencement from Harvard Law School in 1901, grew to become secretary to Joseph H. Choate, U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James. In 1903 he returned to New York to hitch the Hanover Bank, the place he grew to become vp in 1904 and president in 1910. He additionally grew to become a member of the primary Federal Reserve Board in 1914 and, from 1927 to 1929, was president of the New York Clearing House. Thereafter, he served as board chairman of Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company however retired in 1933 to commit his time to his stud farm and Thoroughbred nursery, Belair, close to Annapolis, Md., the place the primary English Thoroughbred racehorses imported into Maryland had been bred. At Belair, with the assistance of the excellent coach James (“Sunny Jim”) Fitzsimmons, he bred two winners of the U.S. Triple Crown: Gallant Fox, who captured the three occasions in 1930, and Gallant Fox’s colt Omaha, who received in 1935. Among his different profitable horses have been Happy Gal, Faireno, Granville, Vagrancy, and Nashua. In 1939 Woodward’s horse Johnstown received the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Woodward additionally entered horses within the English traditional races. Every yr he despatched a few of his yearling foals to his English coach Cecil Boyd-Rochfort. Among his winners within the English traditional races have been Boswell, 1936, the Saint Leger; Black Tarquin, 1948, the Saint Leger; Hycilla, 1944, the Oaks; and Flares, 1938, the Ascot Gold Cup.
A member of the U.S. Jockey Club from 1917, Woodward served as chairman of the board of stewards from 1930 till 1950. During his chairmanship horse racing turned from a questionable playing operation into a serious spectator sport.