Dancer treasures highlight HTA auction

Harness Tracks of America’s 30th annual harness racing art auction, to be held in the Tattersalls Sales Arena in Lexington on Kentucky Futurity morning, Saturday, Oct. 6, will feature a collection of art treasures owned by harness racing immortal Stanley Dancer.

The collection includes some of the most exceptional trophies won by Dancer in his illustrious career, including the Roosevelt Raceway Founders’ Plate, a superb Orrefors crystal engraved by famed artist Richard Stone Reeves and won by Albatross; a magnificent early 1800s Sheffield silver urn presented to Dancer after a Su Mac Lad victory at Saratoga Raceway; two large original oil paintings by Reeves, of Bonefish and Most Happy Fella; and a large Tony Cristello oil of Stanley and Albatross, a personal Dancer favorite.

The Dancer collection also includes a bronze reproduction of Tres Spiritus, the original of which graced Roosevelt Raceway’s lobby for years; a stopwatch presented to Dancer at Western Harness Racing for an Albatross victory at Santa Anita; a marbleized plaque showing Dancer, Bill Haughton, Joe O’Brien, Herve Filion and familiar harness racing settings including the Hall of Fame in Goshen and Stable of Memories at Lexington; a wonderful colorful composite of Dancer with various poses of Nevele Pride; a Dancer stopwatch; harness racing books from the Dancer library; and an old Grand Circuit flag from Brandywine Raceway, one of Stan’s favorite tracks.

In addition to the Dancer works, the art auction will include a century-old charcoal by celebrated equine artist George Ford Morris; a large collection of watercolors and oils by renowned Polish artist Zenon Aniszewski and his son Dariusz; a group of beautiful bronzes; work by Ohio’s talented artist David Pavlak and California’s Adrienne Gualco; a large collection from a brilliant new addition to the Harness Tracks of America ranks, William Rogers from Atlantic Canada; paintings by old Harness Tracks of America favorite Jo Hodos; and spectacular woodcarvings by John Kittelson and Roy Lennberg.

These art treasures and more than 120 others will be sold for the benefit of the Harness Tracks of America College Scholarship Fund, which helps send five young people with harness racing backgrounds to college each fall. (HTA)

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