Coon, Guida honored in Goshen

Charles E. “Chuck” Coon and Lou P. Guida were inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame Sunday night during ceremonies under a big tent on the lawn of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall Of Fame in Goshen, N.Y. Also honored were Murray Janoff and Alan Prince, who were inducted into the Communicators Corner of the Hall of Fame.

Coon revolutionized racetrack design in the United States and Guida revolutionized horse ownership in this country. Through the 1980s and ‘90s horses owned by groups headed by Guida set record after record on the racetracks manicured by Coon.

In 1947 Janoff partnered with another harness writer, Mike Lee to form what is today the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA), which is the organization which nominates and elects the members of the Hall of Fame. Prince, who wrote for the Miami Herald for 25 years, founded the Florida Chapter of USHWA and has been the national organization’s treasurer since 1970.

Joining the Living Horse Hall of Fame Sunday night were the great mare Amour Angus, the top Canadian sire Camluck and the 1997 Hambletonian winner Malabar Man, who accepted his honor in the flesh. Also honored as Immortal members of the Hall of Fame were David A. “Sonny” Werblin, one of the major forces in the development of the Meadowlands; and the mares Rosemary and Silk Stockings.

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