USHWA

Hall of Fame

One cannot pass through the picturesque town of Goshen, N.Y., without feeling the presence of the Standardbred. A former watering hole for weary carriage horses now marks the town square, local businesses commonly feature logos with a horse and high-wheeled sulky, and a scenic and serene half-mile racetrack is situated just off Main Street. Adjacent to that same thoroughfare sits a century-old stable, yet another reminder of Goshen’s historic past as the birthplace and epicenter of the Standardbred sport.

In 1951, when Goshen was still the home of the Hambletonian stake, a group of seven visionary horsemen transformed that stable, formerly William H. Cane’s Good Time Stable, into what would become the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. Stalls were transformed into exhibition areas, hay chutes served as display cases, and harness racing history found its home adjacent to Historic Track. Several additions to the original stable and a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 1998 have made the museum and Hall of Fame a destination for tourists and harness fans from around the world.

The museum’s displays trace the entire history of the Standardbred sport from the breed’s beginning with the revolutionary sire Hambletonian, through the rise of such legends as Pop Geers, Dan Patch, Delvin Miller and Billy Haughton, to the momentous career of Moni Maker and today’s racing stars. The vibrant and interactive exhibitry includes three movie theaters, computer databases, a mechanical talking horse, the opportunity to announce a race, and the world’s only 3-D harness racing simulator, which allows visitors to experience the thrill of driving in a harness race.

The museum also houses the Peter D. Haughton Memorial Library, its books, magazines and videos available for research, and an education department which introduces hundreds of schoolchildren, scouts, and 4-Hers to harness racing each year.

In addition to preserving the sport’s history, the museum’s Hall of Fame honors the people and horses who have contributed significantly to the sport. Hall of Fame inductees are elected by members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association and were first installed in 1961. A life-like statuette of each inductee is displayed in the Living Hall of Fame.

Since 1995 outstanding horses have been inducted into a special Living Horse Hall of Fame voted on by the museum’s members—and anyone can be a member. Museum members may also nominate men, women, and horses who have died as Immortals of the Hall of Fame. A committee reviews the nominees each year and the final inductees are elected by the museum’s board of trustees. Also, when a Hall of Famer dies, the statuette of that person is transferred to the Hall of the Immortals.

The Writers’ Corner of the Hall of Fame was created in 1984 to honor USHWA members who have used their talent to report and document the sport of harness racing. Inductees are elected by their peers, fellow USHWA members,and honored by a caricature that hangs in the Writers’ Corner of the museum.

Museum president Elbridge T. Gerry Jr., whose father was one of the original founders, and director Gail Cunard work to ensure the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, now in its 51st year, continues to “protect the past, support the present and promote the future of the great sport of harness racing.”—By M. Kelly Young

Living Hall of Fame
The membership of USHWA have elected these leaders in harness racing to the sport's highest honor.

2005 Tom Thomson
2005 Ron Gurfein

1961

E. Roland Harriman*, Stephen G. Phillips*

1966

George Morton Levy *

1967

Octave Blake*, Lawrence B. Sheppard*, Bion Shively*

1968

Frank Ervin*, William R. Haughton*, Walter J. Michael*, Delvin G. Miller*

1969

Thurman Wayne Smart*, Stanley F. Dancer

1970

Joseph C. O’Brien*, Harry E. Pownall*, Sanders Russell*

1971

Ralph N. Baldwin*, John F. Simpson*

1972

Clint Hodgins*

1973

NONE

1974

Howard Beissinger, Adelbert Cameron*, James J. Dunnigan*, Frederick L. Van Lennep*

1975

Elbridge T. Gerry*, Herve Filion

1976

NONE

1977

Earle B. Avery*

1978

NONE

1979

John Chapman*, Robert G. Farrrington, Max C. Hempt*

1980

Clarence F. Gaines*, A.E. (Ted) Gibbons*, Delmer M. Insko

1981

Norman O. Woolworth*

1982

Glen G. Garnsey*

1983

NONE

1984

George F. Sholty*

1985

Carmine Abbatiello, Levi B. Harner*, James M. Lynch*

1986

William Connors,* James Cruise*, Keith Waples, T.J. (Ted) Zornow*

1987

Stanley F. Bergstein, Ernest B. Morris*, Kenneth D. Owen*

1988

Dunbar Bostwick, Henry C. Thomson*

1989

Willliam D. "Buddy" Gilmour, Clinton G. Gaibraith

1990

John D. Campbell, William A. O’Donnell

1991

Hugh A.(Andy) Grant Jr., Gene Riegle, Don R. Millar*

1992

John A. Cashman, Corwin M. Nixon*, Philip W. Tully*

1993

Ronald Waples, Joseph A. DeFrank, John Patterson Sr., Edward M. Ryan

1994

Doug Ackerman, Anthony T. Abbatiello, Elbridge T. Gerry Jr., and Ted Leonard*

1995

Dr. J. Glen Brown, Michel Lachance, and Jack Kopas

1996

George Segal, Dominic H. Frinzi

1997

William S. Brown, Ray Remmen and Chuck Sylvester

1998

NONE

1999

Guy Antonacci*, Frank Antonacci*

2000

Dave Magee, Vernon Dancer *

2001

Jim Dennis*, Catello Manzi and Harry Harvey

2002

Bob McIntosh, Berndt Lindstedt, Jim Doherty

2003

John Simpson Jr.

2004

Ron Pierce

Communicator's Corner
Hall of Famers in this category are members of USHWA who have proven themselves worthy of the sport's highest honor. The USHWA membership votes on their induction.

1983

Michael Lee*, Edward C. Binneweg*, Jack Schultz*, Chuck Stokes*, Roy Shudt*, Ed Keller*, Dave Herman*

1984

Lawrence T. Evans*

1985

Leonard Cohen*, Louis Effrat*

1986

James C. Harrison, Stanley F. Bergstein

1987

Clyde Hirt*, Robert L. Zellner*, Thomas F. Shehan

1988

Mike Cipriani*, John J. Hugerich Jr., Anthony W. Sisti

1989

Al Desantis, Lou Miller*

1990

William F. Brown Jr., Philip A. Pines

1991

Robert A. Hackett*, Col. Dave Herman*, Karel (Bud) VanderVeer*

1992

Allen J. Finkelson*, Joseph H. Goldstein, George A. Smallsreed*

1993

Leslie P. Ford, Donald P. Evans*

1994

Lew Barasch*, Izzy Katzman

1995

Sam Anzalone

1996

Bowman A. Brown Jr.*

1997

Marvin Bachrad

1998

NONE

1999

Ed Reddy, Bo Gill*

2000

Roger Huston, John Bradley *

2001

Ed Palladino, Curt Greene*

2002

Bruce Stearns*

2003

NONE

2004

Tom White, Nick Saponara

2005

Ed Keys, Bill Heller, Jack Ginetti and Virginia O'Brien
* Deceased

From a July 19, 2006 letter from Ebby Gerry and the Hall of Fame:

I am writing to confirm that the Trustees of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame at our Annual Meeting on July 2nd voted unanimously to establish the following guidelines for the Communicators Corner at the Museum.

In establishing these official guidelines, the Trustees strongly believed that there should be a clear separation between the Communicators Corner and the Living Hall of Fame, most especially in news releases, souvenir journals and other publications. As a result, it was resolved that those elected to the Communicators Corner must be referred to as members of the "Communicators Hall of Fame" or "Communicator Hall of Famer" and that any reference to it must indicate that it is the "Communicators Corner at the Harness Racing Museum."

I hope this will resolve the issue but will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We appreciate very much the constructive relations that the Museum and USHWA have had over the years and we especially appreciate all your help over the July 4th weekend.