Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame facts for kids

Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame

Established	1951
Location	Goshen, New York

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is a special place in Goshen, New York. It's like a giant scrapbook that collects and saves the history of harness racing. This is a type of horse racing where a horse pulls a driver in a two-wheeled cart called a sulky. The museum also has a Hall of Fame for the amazing American Standardbred horses and the people involved in the sport.

Goshen, New York, is a very important place for harness racing. It's where a famous horse named Hambletonian 10 was born. This horse is the ancestor of almost all American Standardbred horses today! Many early Hambletonian races, which are big events, happened right here in Goshen. The Historic Track nearby, started in 1838, is the oldest harness horse track still used in the United States. It's even a National Historic Landmark! Races are still held there every year. The museum itself opened in 1951.

Inside the Museum

The museum building used to be a stable back in 1913. Now, it's filled with incredible art and items from harness racing history. You can see paintings, sculptures, and thousands of photos of famous horses and drivers. There are also many drivers' uniforms and over 75 sulkies and carts. One cool part is a preserved stable, which shows you what racing equipment looked like long ago. The museum also has a library with over 4,000 books and videos about harness racing.

The Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame is a special part of the museum. It honors the best horses and people who have made a big difference in harness racing. People and horses are chosen for the Hall of Fame in different groups. The main groups are Living Persons, Living Horses, and Immortals. New members are added on Hall of Fame Day, which is the first Sunday of July each year.

Living Persons

People who are still alive can be nominated for the Hall of Fame every year. The United States Harness Writers Association chooses them. They look for people with great skill, honesty, good sportsmanship, and who have helped harness racing a lot. To be chosen, a person needs 75% of the votes from eligible members. Winners get a special ring, and a small statue of them is added to the Hall of Fame.

Living Horses

The museum has a special group that picks five horses each year to be voted on. For a horse to be nominated, it must have been drug-free during its racing career. It also needs to have been retired from racing for at least five years. There are different groups for racehorses, male horses (stallions), and female horses (broodmares). Each group has its own rules for being chosen. Winners get a plaque in the Hall of Fame, and a copy is given to the horse's current owner.

Immortals

This group honors people and horses who have passed away more than three years ago. Museum members can nominate them. A committee reviews the nominations and suggests them to the museum's board. The board then chooses the honorees. Famous horses like Greyhound and Victory Song are Immortals. So are drivers like Thomas S. Berry, Del Cameron, and Gene Riegle. This group also includes trainers, owners, breeders, artists, and writers who helped the sport.

See also

• Edward Geers (1851-1924), known as "Pop", was a famous American harness racer and writer.