Us Harness Racing
Marvin Bachrad 1997Closely identified with Delaware Valley sports for more than three decades, Marv Bachrad joined Dover Downs on May 1, 1997, after working for six years as senior editor and columnist for TIMES: in
harness. The only person to serve two separate four-year terms as president of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, Marv still serves on its board of directors. In 1993 he was named to the Philadelphia Chapter, Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. He was publicity, press and public relations director at Brandywine Raceway from |
CHARLES BACKMAN 1958 [1824-1900]Born in Pittstown, NY in 1824, Charles Backman amassed a fortune as a young man in New York City, moved to Orange County and founded Stony Ford Farm in Campbell Hall in 1864. He was the first to recognize the potential greatness of the sire Hambletonian, who stood in nearby Chester. He scoured the country in search of mares for his breeding establishment and though he did not care for racing, he became an expert on breeding. He purchased many of Hambletonian's offspring, including Messenger Duroc, Electioneer and others. With the reputations of Electioneer and Green Mountain Maid, his farm became a mecca for the "sealskin brigade", a group of well-to-do New York City horsemen and many visits from former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. From 1862 to 1900 he was known as a breeder's breeder". He died June 30, 1900. |
WILLIAM W. BAIR 1959 [1839-1908]Bair's chief claim to fame was driving Maud S. to a trotting record of 2:08¾ at Cleveland in 1885. He was born in Sadsburyvilie, Chester County, PA in 1839. He started training trotters in Harrisburg at the age of twenty-nine. Besides driving Maud S. to glory for William H. Doble, he took charge of the Harrisburg Track, Chester Park in Cincinnati and Suffolk and Belmont Park in Philadelphia. He brought out a great many turf performers in his career, such as Harry Clay, 2:23¾, Johnston, 2:06¼ and Czarina Dawson, 2:11¾. Bair died in Philadelphia in 1908. |
EDWARD J. BAKER 1959 [1868-1959]Born in St. Charles, IL in 1868, Baker became the brother-in-law of John W. Gates and inherited most of his estate in 1918. A patron of harness horses who owned more champions than any of his contemporaries, Baker became a collector of 2:00 horses headed by the champion Greyhound, 1:55¼, Winnipeg, 1:57¾, Her Ladyship, 1:56¾, Volo Song, 1:57¾, Doctor Spencer, 1:59½, and Algiers, 1:584/5. Colonel Baker's main farm was in St. Charles. When he retired from the sport in 1947, he sold everything except the farm and Greyhound, who was retired there. Colonel Baker died in 1959 in St. Charles at the age of ninety. |
RALPH N. BALDWIN 1982[1916-1982]This native of Lloydminster, Sask., Canada won his first harness race when he was seventeen. After apprenticeship with his father, a prominent Canadian horseman, Ralph Baldwin embarked on a career that established him as one of the top trainer-drivers on the continent. He developed scores of champions and his 1,146 victories include dozens of major races, highlighted by Hambletonian wins with Speedy Scot and Flirth. He was head trainer at Castleton Farm in Kentucky for ten years, and later served Arden Homestead Stable in Goshen in a similar capacity. He died in 1982 in Pompano Beach, FL at age 66. |
Lew Barasch |
WILLIAM BAREFOOT 1978 [1862-1954]Born in Cambridge City, IN in 1862, William Barefoot gained prominence in the sport as the breeder and owner of Single G. Having become successful in the poultry business, he purchased a mare named Little Gyp with plans to race her. But she soon turned lame and became a broodmare instead. On April 4, 2023 she foaled a colt with a nearly perfect letter "G" outlined in white on his forehead. Single G became a world champion, later considered to be the greatest pacer of the first half of the 20th Century. William Barefoot died in 1954 in Muncie, IN. |
JOHN C. BAUER 1979 [1858-1937]Born in LaPorte, IN in 1858, his family moved to Aurora, IL when he was a small child. He began working in a printing office in his early teens and by the time he was sixteen was an expert compositor. In 1888 he Joined a partnership with advertising man Palmer L. Clark and the following year the two founded the Horse Review. In 1894 Bauer bought out his partner and became the sole owner and publisher of this foremost of harness Journals. He held this position until the Review suspended |
Beach Towel 2005 |
BELLE ACTON p, 3, T1:58.3 2000 [1953-1984]Belle Acton was the daughter of immortal The Widower and Diane Scot by Immortal Scotland. Bred by Bonnie Brae Farm and Cliff Thro, she was originally purchased by Immortal Bill Haughton as a yearling, for a modest $1,600. Haughton sold her to George B. Landers of Kittery, ME but continued to train and drive her. After nine months of campaigning, she made her last start as a two-year-old at Yonkers Raceway in the Autumn Pace. She was catch-driven by Hall of Famer Stanley Dancer. Belle smashed all records for two-year-old pacers on a half-mile track, winning it by a margin of 19 lengths in 2:02 2/5. She finished out the year winning 15 of 21 starts. |
BEAUTIFUL BELLS t, 2:29½ 1976 [1872-1904]Beautiful Bells,by the Moor-Minnehaha, was the best known foundation mare at Leland Stanford's Palo Alto Farm. She was considered the "premier trotting broodmare of the world." She produced a larger number of fast trotters than any other matron of her time. Beautiful Bells foaled eleven with Standard records and five with records below 2:20. She also had an extraordinary family of potent sons and daughters. It was her son Chimes who was the sire of three of the fastest trotters of their day: The Abbott, The Monk and Fantasy. She died in 1904 at age thirty-two. |
BELLE MAHONE p, 2:12½1974 [1925- ]Belle Mahone, the produce of Oliver Evans-Roxie, was foaled on a small farm near Washington Court-house, OH in 1925, her breeder being W. E. Sever. While still quite young, she went blind in one eye. Her racing career was cut short and she was first bred as a five-year-old. The offspring of Belle Mahone raced at tracks from coast to coast, with seven out of twelve pacing under 2:10. |
BELWIN t, 2:06¾ 1973 [1910-1936]A McKinney-Belle Winnie horse, Belwin was foaled in 1910 and was unbeaten as a racehorse. He was retired to stud in 1915 and is credited with 319 Standard performers. When he died in 1936 at Clear Spring Farm near Indianapolis, IN, he had produced 151 racehorses in 2:10 and 319 Standard performers. His race record was 2:06¾. |
Howard BeissingerHoward Beissinger, a two-time winner of the famed Hambletonian Trotting Classic with Lindy's Pride and Speedy Crown, is one of harness racing's all-time leading race winners with more than 1,350 career victories and $4.6-million in earnings according to the U.S. Trotting Association. The 51-year-old native of Hamilton, Ohio also trained and raced such other stakes winners as Tarport Lib, Entrepreneur, Widower Creed, South Bend, MacArthur and 1974 star Stock Split. Beissinger, who received the Ohio Harness Writers' "Achievement Award" in 1969 and tbe "Clem McCarthy" Good Guy Award from the U.S. Harness Writers for 1972, also has the Circle H Ranch near Pompano Beach, Fla. where he enjoys his hobby of bulldogging Steers and calf roping. |
Stanley F. Bergstein |
THOMAS S. BERRY 1964[1882-1962]Born in London, England in 1882, he stowed away on a horse transport bound for Boston at age ten and began to work there in a livery stable. This led to driving horses at the New England fairs. He eventually opened his own public stable in Flemington, NJ. By 1926 he had become one of the nation's top drivers and was known as "The Jersey Skeeter". He signed with Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania and won The Hambletonian and The Kentucky Futurity with Hanover's Bertha in 1931. Tom Berry drove in more Hambletonian's than any other driver of his time and won ninety-seven major stakes. He drove until age seventy-nine and died in Lexington on July 21, 1962. |
BETTY G. p, 1:59½ 1977 [1946-1969]Betty G. was the family founder at Delvin Miller's Meadow Lands Farm. Her greatest value was in the productivity of all of her daughters. Four of them were 2:00 producers. In her own lifetime, Betty G.'s 2:00 family credits totaled nine, a score which grows as her daughters and granddaughters continue to produce. The daughter of Wllinington-Betty Crispin, she died in 1969. |
BILL GALLON t, 1:59½ 1984 [1938-1970]A foal of 1938 by Sandy Flash out of Calumet Aristocrat, he was purchased as a yearling by Hugh "Doc" Parshall for R. Horace Johnston of Whitehall Stud Farm, Charlotte, NC. |
CORNELIUS K. G. BILLINGS 1958 [1861-1937]Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings was born in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1861 and was educated in Wisconsin. In 1887, upon the death of his father, he became president of the People's Gas Light & Coke Company in Chicago. He inherited his love of the trotter from his father and in 1899 drove his first horse, Lucille, on the road. From then on Billings purchased the best horses to be found, including Uhlan, 1:58, William, 1:58½ and Lou Dillon, 1:58½. "Doc" Tanner was placed in charge of his stable and they toured the world on exhibition. The Billings' horses were not raced for money, but went many record miles to saddle, high-wheel sulky, and wagon. He retired to Santa Barbara, where he died May 6, 1937. |
BILLY DIRECT p, T1:55 1956 [1934-1947]Billy Direct was by Napoleon Direct-Gay Forbes, foaled in 1934 in Tennessee. Owned by H. H. Ridge of Haverhill, MA, he was sold as a two-year-old to Nathan Smith, Lowell, MA. He won in 2:17½ at two over a Maine half-mile track and at the end of the season paced in 2:04½ on the Grand Circuit at Old Orchard, ME over a kite track; a record for that age. He was purchased by D. J. McConnville and P. J. Downey and at three was raced and trained free-legged by Vic Fleming, finishing the season with a 1:58 record mile. In 1938 he beat Dan Patch's record by pacing the mile in 1:55 at Lexington. He held this record until 1961, but shared it for a time with Adios Harry, who paced in 1:55 at Vernon, NY in 1955. After Billy Direct's world record breaking performance he was exhibited until his retirement in 1939 to stud, at Peninsular Farms in Freemont, OH. From there he went to stud at Hanover Shoe Farms, where he died in 1947. Together with Adios Harry, he was the world's fastest harness horse until Adios Butler lowered the record to 1:54.3 in 1960. |
BINGEN t, 2:06¼ 1955 [1892-1913]Bingen was foaled in 1892, sired by May King out of Young Miss, he was bred by A. Smith McCann in Kentucky. Sold as a yearling to George Leavitt of Boston, Bingen was placed in the stable of Henry Titer at Mystic Park track. He broke the trotting record for two-year-olds in 1895 and later that year went in 2:12½ against time. In 1899 he was purchased by J. Malcolm Forbes who placed him at stud at Forbes Farm in Massachusetts. In 1912 he became the property of David M. Look and was moved to Castleton Farm in Kentucky. Outstanding among the many good horses he sired was world champion Uhlan, 1:58 and Gaiety Lee, the dam of Lee Axworthy, 1:58¼. He died at Castleton Farm in April, 1913. |
Edward C. Binneweg* |
ISRAEL O. BLAKE 1960 [1854-1942]Born in Beebee, Quebec, in 1854, I. O. Blake was extremely successful in business. He started his Grand Circuit stable of trotters and founded Newport Stock Farm In Newport, VT in 1899. For many years he campaigned with such stars as Jeritra, 2:06¼, Atlantic McElwyn, 2:05 ½, Brittanic, 2:02 ½, Voltaire, Lee Brewer and others. Blake's Island Wilkes and Island Wilkes, Jr., established a strong breeding line, the offspring of which still race today. He died in 1942 at his home in North Hafley, Quebec, at age eighty-eight. |
OCTAVE BLAKE 1969 [1895-1969]Owner of Newport Stock Farm in Newport, VT, he owned and bred many great performers such as Newport Dream, winner of the 1954 Hambletonian and Forbes Chief, winner of the 1947 Little Brown Jug. He was instrumental in gaining driver acceptance of the safety helmet. Blake was president of the Grand Circuit for more than twenty years, during a period |
BLUE BULL t, 1981[1858-1880]Foaled in 1858, he was sired by Pruden's Blue Bull out of Queen. Like Hambletonian, Blue Bull was used for stud only and had 56 foals in the 2:30 list from approximately 900 foals.He initially stood in Indiana. In 1884 (four years after his death), he was the leading sire of Standard performers, temporarily dethroning none other than Hambletonian! He won fame as a sire of progenitors of some of our top stars of today. He died in 1880. |
ROBERT BONNER 1967 [1824-1899]Born in Ireland in 1824, he came to America in 1839 and acquired a fortune as a very young man. |
Dunbar Bostwick |
NED F. BOWER 1995 [1923-1993]Born in 1923 in Ravenna, Ohio, Ned Bower began his career in harness racing in 1950 working for the Frank Ervin Stable. |
John Bradley * |
BRET HANOVER, p,T1:53.3 1994 [1962-1992]The produce of Adios out of Brenna Hanover, Bret earned the adoration of his fans by winning 62 of 68 races and earning $922,616 in his three years of campaigning. His career included a modern day record 35 straight victories as a two and three year old. He captured the Pacing Triple Crown and earned Horse of the Year honors three years running (1964-66). He was retired to stand at stud at Castleton Farm, which purchased a 50 percent interest in him from owner Richard Downing, who had paid $50,000 for him as a yearling. He became one of the sport'sleading studs of all time, siring the winners of more than $62 million, with 523 of his offspring taking 2:00 marks. Following his death at Castleton on November 21, 1992, he was buried in the newly created cemetery at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. |
ALLEN BREWER 1979 [1921-1967]Born in 1921 at Newton Center, MA, he was an owner of Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds in Lexington, KY. He was an excellent artist, and his renderings of horses won him worldwide fame. He also was one of the few men licensed to drive Standardbreds and train both breeds of horses. He died in a plane crash in 1967 at the height of his career. |
BOWMAN A. BROWN 1975 [1897-1968]Bowman Brown was the president and founder of the Harness Horse magazine and vice-president and manager of the Standardbred Horse Sales Company. Not only did he gain recognition as a publisher and sales executive, but he was also known as a breeder and owner. His greatest accomplishments in the field came through his broodmare Misty Hanover, dam of Hickory Smoke and Hickory Pride. Born in April, 1897 in Clearfield, PA, Brown was 71 at the time of his death in October, 1968. |
Dr. J. Glen BrownBrampton Inductee |
William S. Brown 1997Bill Brown has been involved with Standardbreds since his childhood in Lebanon, Ohio, where his grandfather was a trainer and farm manager for the King Stock Farm. In the 1940s Bill worked for Immortal trainer/drivers Fred Egan and Frank Ervin. After service in the US Army, he returned to Frank Ervin's barn as second trainer for five years. In 1958, Bill became manager of Castleton's Standardbred division in Lexington, KY. At Castleton he guided the stud careers of such notables as Good Time, Bret
Hanover, Victory Song, Speedster, and Florican. |
William F. Brown Jr. |
BROWN HAL p, 2:12½1955 [1879-1908]Foaled in 1879, he was a son of Tom Hal and Lizzie and a full brother to the famous pacer Little Brown Jug. Brown Hal was purchased by Major Campbell Brown and Capt. M. C. Campbell in 1881 for $700 on the chance he would be as good as Little Brown-Jug. At two he was trained under saddle until he began to show some speed. When three years old he paced in 2:13. In 1889 he was placed in the stable of Pop Geers. Due to an injury to his leg, he was retired to stud in Tennessee in 1890. He became a popular stallion there and among the champions he sired was Star Pointer, the first 2:00 harness horse. Brown Hal died at Cleburne Farm in Spring Hill, Tn., on February 19, 1908. |
LAWRENCE "BROWNIE" BROWN 1999 [1887-1962]Lawrence Brown was born in Niles, MI, on March 21, 1887. His father was not a horseman but "Brownie" was, and as a youngster the local livery stable was his second home. When he was fifteen, he took his first stock farm job, as a groom. During the winter of 1910, Lawrence Brown went to Walnut Hall Farm, Lexington, KY as a part-time groom for Lamon V. Harkness, founder of Walnut Hall
Farm. He worked summers for Thomas W. Murphy as the "advance man" for the Grand
Circuit. In 1916 he signed up full-time with Walnut Hall Farm and so began a career, in service at the Standardbred nursery, that spanned four generations of ownership.
Lawrence Brown was a natural, practical horseman. His success stemmed from his genuine love for the horses that were his life, his honesty and his extraordinary ability to size up a young horse. |
HARRY BRUSIE 1978 [1876-1941]A native of Massachusetts, Harry Brusie trained and raced around New England for forty years. He developed many good half-mile track performers, including Minor Hal, Quite Sure and Sturdy. He was much loved by sportsmen because of his native wit and personality. His son Lyman Joined him with |
HELEN R. BUCK 2000 1899-1997]Helen Rouss Buck and her husband, Immortal Leonard J. Buck, developed Allwood Stable of Far Hills, NJ and Thomasville, GA and Allwood Farm of Hanover, PA. Great pacers and trotters owned by the Bucks included The Intruder T1:59 1/5, winner of the 1956 Hambletonian Stake; Kimberly Kid 1:59 winner of the 1953 Kentucky Futurity; Capetown p,1:58; 1975 Horse of the Year Savoir 3,1:58.1; and Overtrick, who turned in fifteen two-minute miles, the fastest of which was a 1:57.lh world record performance while winning the 1963 Little Brown Jug. Immortal Thomas W. Murphy was an advisor to the Bucks when they first became involved in the sport. Immortals Tom Berry, John Chapman, and Ned Bower, Hall of Famers, John Patterson and Del Insko, and Jimmy Arthur, trained the Buck's racehorses. In an article in Hoof Beats magazine, Mrs. Buck". . excelled as a breeder of top quality stock.." In 1955 she purchased a small yearling filly, overbidding at a price of $6,500. Although too tiny to become a superior racehorse, Overbid, as Mrs. Buck (who was also an avid bridge player) so aptly named her, produced two champions, Overtrick and Overcall. Little Brown Jug winner Overtrick, had earnings of over $400,000. He was syndicated for $500,000 at the close of the 1964 season and retired to Lana Lobell Farms at Hanover, PA. The 1969 undefeated Pacer of the Year Overcall, p,6,1:57.lf, had lifetime earnings totaling more than $785,000. He was retired to stud at Blue Chip Farms, Wallkill, NY. |
LEONARD J. BUCK 1974 [1893-1974]Leonard Buck was introduced to harness racing by Octave Blake in 1951 and subsequently purchased Barbara Direct in partnership with his wife Helen. They developed the Allwood Stable, which boasted such greats as Overtrick, Kimberly Kid and The Intruder. Over a twenty year span, the farm produced five 2:00 trotters, trained by such men as Tom Berry, John Chapman, Johnny Patterson, Jimmy Arthur and Ned Bower. Buck was a member of The Hambletonian Society and was a founding member of The Hall of Fame of the Trotter. At the time of his death at age eighty-one in 1974, he was the Hall of Fame's vice-president. |
WILLIAM L. BULL 1981 [ - 1943]A prosperous truck farmer, this Virginian also achieved a great deal of success as a breeder and driver of harness horses. "Billy" Bull developed and drove such outstanding horses as Cindy M. Jr., 2:04, Symbol Roy, 2:04¼ and Calumet Dilworthy, 2:02¼, who was sold out of his stable at Goshen's Historic Track and two hours later trotted to the world's record for his new owner. Other noted performers in Bull's stable were Nate Hanover, p,1:59, t,2:01¾, Volodale, 2:06¾ and Grace Hanover, 2:05. William Bull died in 1943 in Melfa, VA. |
NEVA "GRANDMA" BURRIGHT 1994 [1883-1958]The midwest's famous grandma, whose career spanned 57 years in the sulky, was a familiar figure for many seasons at Illinois fair tracks. She became nationally known when she successfully competed in night racing at pari-mutuel tracks from 1946 until she retired from driving in 1954. |
DONALD H. BUSSE 1981 [1918-1971]A native of Portage, WI, Donald Busse's career in harness racing started in 1933 when his father purchased a string of trotters and pacers. For many years he combined working the family farm with county fair driving. Once he turned to driving full-time, he achieved great success. In 1963 he won the National Driving Championship and nine times he was among the "Top 10" race winners in North America. Racing mostly in the Chicago area, his career totals were 2,255 wins with earnings of almost $3 million. He died in 1971 in Chicago Heights, IL. |
BYE BYE BYRD p,T1:56.1 1982 [1955-1980]Hailed as one of the leading performers of his time, Bye Bye Byrd held twelve world pacing records during his racing career. Bred by the Larkin's of Poplar Hill Farm, he was by Poplar Byrd out of Evalina Hanover. He was named Horse of the Year in 1959 |