Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame

Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
Established	1951
Location	Goshen, NY
Website	http://www.harnessmuseum.com

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is a museum in Goshen, New York. The museum collects and preserves the history of harness racing and serves as a hall of fame for trotter horses.

Orange County is the birthplace of Hambletonian 10, the ancestor of all American standardbred horses, and many of the early Hambletonian races were held in Goshen. Established in 1838, the neighboring Historic Track is a National Historic Landmark, the oldest horse track still in use in the United States. Stables still operate on the grounds and exhibition races are held annually. The museum opened in 1951, during Goshen's Hambletonian era.

Hall of Fame

The half-timber building that houses the museum was built as a stable in 1838, It houses artwork by longtime former museum director Philip A. Pines and racing memorabilia dating back to the start of trotting. Exhibits include 1,500 paintings and sculptures, several thousand photographs, hundreds of drivers' uniforms, 50 sulkies, over 200 trophies, and a preserved stable which serves as a walk-through display case for racing equipment. The museum also maintains a research library with more than 4,000 books and videos on the sport of harness racing.^[1] The Hall of Fame is contained within the museum.

The Hall of Fame inducts nominees under several categories, divided between those for horses and those for humans, including drivers, owners, and trainers. The three main categories are Living Persons, Living Horses, and Immortals. Winners from each category are announced on Hall of Fame Day, the first Sunday of each July.

Living persons

Living people are nominated for the Hall of Fame annually by the United States Harness Writers Association, based upon their "ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contribution to harness racing." All members with more than 10 years of membership are eligible to vote, and 75% support is needed for a nomination to pass. Winners receive a ring, and a statuette of each inductee is added to the Hall of Fame.^[2]

Living horses

The museum maintains a nomination committee which compiles a list of five nominees per year to be voted on by all museum members. All horses are required to have been drug-free during their careers and to have been retired from the sport for at least five years. There is a category for race horses, another for stallions, and another for broodmares, each with its own criteria. Winners receive a plaque in the Hall of Fame, and a replica is presented to the current owner of each horse.^[2]

Immortals

Nominations of people and horses from times past are reviewed by a committee, recommendations are made to the board of trustees, and the board selects the winners. Inductees include horses like Greyhound and Victory Song and drivers such as Thomas S. Berry and Gladys F. Harriman. A number of the inductees were trainers, owners, breeders, and even sportswriters.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Historic Collection and Library Research Services". Harness Museum & Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2006-05-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20060502055139/http://www.harnessmuseum.com/Pages/Collections/collections.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-23. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Harness Racing Hall of Fame". Harness Museum & Hall of Fame. http://www.harnessmuseum.com/hofelections.htm. Retrieved 2009=09-01. 

External links

Hudson Valley portal

• Museum & Hall of Fame home page
• History of standardbred racing
• Hambletonian society home page