Sibille honored with 2005 George Woolf Award

Retired rider Ray Sibille was honored with the George Woolf Award on Sunday (Benoit Photo)

Retired jockey Ray Sibille was named the winner of the 2005 George Woolf
Memorial Jockey Award on Sunday. The Sunset, Louisiana, native announced his
retirement on July 21 last year.

“It’s quite an honor, and I guess this puts me up there in the major
leagues,” Sibille said. “It’s great to be recognized by your fellow riders.”

Jockeys nationwide have voted since 1985 on the recipient of the George Woolf
Award, which pays homage to riders whose careers and personal character reflect
positively on themselves and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. It is prized as
one of racing’s most prestigious honors and past winners include Bill Shoemaker
(1951), Eddie Arcaro (1953), Laffit Pincay Jr. (1970), Eddie Delahoussaye (1981)
and Pat Day (1985). The Award is named after George “the Iceman” Woolf, who died
from an accident in 1946.

Sibille, who grew up with Delahoussaye in Louisiana and is the brother-in-law
of Day, rode a total of 4,264 winners during his 35-year long career. The
52-year-old’s first winner came at Evangeline Downs in 1968, but that was just
the beginning. Moving his tack to the Chicago area in 1973, he proceeded to win
riding titles at Sportsman’s Park, Hawthorne and Arlington Park.

Sibille moved once again and from 1981 to 1993 rode in Southern
California. It was during this period that he earned some of his biggest
wins, piloting Castilla (Bold Reason) to victory in the 1982 Yellow
Ribbon S. (G1), and also aboard Great Communicator in his 1988 San Juan
Capistrano Invitational H. (G1) win.