Williard L. Proctor was an American Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

. A longtime trainer in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, he began his career as a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 at bush track

Bush track

Bush track is a term used in horse racing to describe unsanctioned, informal horse races run in rural areas of the United States and southern Canada. Quarter horses, ridden by amateur jockeys, are raced on makeshift tracks, often set up in the field where the horses are pastured using barrels or...

s in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. After his riding days were over he turned to training, moving to California in 1955. From then through to his retirement in 1996 he conditioned 58 stakes winners.

A 2003 inductee in the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes

Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes

The Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late May at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Open to two-year-old horses, it is contested on dirt over a distance of five and one half furlongs...

 at Hollywood Park is named in his honor. His son Tom

Thomas F. Proctor

Thomas F. Proctor is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who won the 1994 edition of the Breeders' Cup Distaff with One Dreamer....

 is a trainer.

In 1972, Convenience

Convenience (horse)

Convenience was a Thoroughbred racing mare. She was sired by Fleet Nasrullah, a son of Nasrullah, and her dam was Moment of Truth. Bred by Caper Hill Farm, Inc...

, trained by Willard Proctor, defeated Typecast

Typecast (horse)

Typecast was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse noted for her ability to win races at both short and very long distances. Bred by Nuckols Bros. of Midway, Kentucky, she was out of the mare Journalette and sired by Prince John, a son of the very important sire Princequillo...

 in a $250,000 winner-take-all match race

Match race

A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...

in front of 53,575 fans at Hollywood Park.