Harness Museum inviting Immortal nominations

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is inviting Immortal nominations for the Class of 2013. All Museum members, in good standing, have the privilege of nominating persons and horses who they feel have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing. The nominees must be deceased THREE years or more to be eligible for consideration. Nominations must include a complete biography of the subject and detailed harness racing career statistics, when applicable. Nominations must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2013. They may be emailed on or before that date to director@harnessmuseum.com or mailed to the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, 240 Main Street, Goshen, NY 10924.

Last year, in July, the Immortals Nominating Committee announced that the trustees of the Museum had endorsed the election of Frank Caton and William Wellwood, along with horses Baltic Speed, Carty Nagle, Flicka Frost, Overtrick, The Abbe and Walter Dear. On Sunday, July 7, 2013, "Hall of Fame Day,” these significant contributors to the sport of harness racing will be inducted into the Hall of Immortals during ceremonies held under the tent on the Museum lawn.

● Father of Immortal William Caton, Frank Caton's(1852-1926) personal achievements with exporting, breeding, training and racing the Standardbred horse enabled him to bring the breed to the dominant position of harness racing in Czarist Russia. He also realized his dream of successfully cross-breeding the American Standardbred with the Russian Orlov.

● Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer and two-time Canadian Trainer of the Year, William Wellwood (1940-2003) helped to develop and implement policies that are integral to the state of harness racing in Canada today. The developer of numerous O'Brien Award and Breeders Crown winners, Wellwood had a thirty-year career as a top driver and trainer, and forged a reputation as an astute horseman.

● American National, World Trotting Derby and Breeders Crown winner, world champion Baltic Speed (1981-2009) 3,1:56 ($1,271,764) retired in 1984 as the leading single-season moneywinning trotter of all time.

● To this day, pacer Carty Nagle (1934-1969) p,9,T2:00 ($18,752) holds the record for the longest winning streak in harness racing history at 41 wins.

● Daughter of Hall of Fame Immortal Victory Song, broodmare Flicka Frost (1954-1980) 2,T2:02 ($30,163) was the dam of two Hambletonian Stake winners, Timothy T. and Christopher T., and Hambletonian Oaks winner Cora T.

● Overtrick (1960-1982) p,3,1:57.1h ($407,483) set seven world records in the 1963 Little Brown Jug, and became the fastest Standardbred to ever race on a half-mile track.

● Trained as a trotter by Immortal Ben White and as a pacer by Immortal "Pop” Geers, double-gaited The Abbe (1903-1929) 3,2:10 ½; p,7,2:04 (approx. $20,000) would go on as a stallion to re-channel a famous trotting line into a dominant 20th century pacing line.

● Kentucky Futurity, Hambletonian and Prix d'Amerique winner Walter Dear (1926-1945?) 3,2:02 ¾ ($65,508) was bred and owned by Immortal William H. Cane and trained and driven by Immortal Walter Cox. While standing stud in Germany, Walter Dear disappeared amidst the rubble and chaos at the end of World War II. He is the only Hambletonian Stake winner whose fate remains unknown.

If you would like further information on the 2013 inductees or the induction ceremony and the events leading up to it, please contact the Museum at 845-294-6330 or visit our website, http://www.harnessmuseum.com/.

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is located at 240 Main Street in Goshen, NY and is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm (last tour 4:00 pm). Thanks to U.S. Trotting Association support the Museum is currently offering free admission for walk-in visitors and group docent-guided tours at a minimal charge per person. For additional information about the Museum, its membership program, special events and educational programs, please call 845-294-6330 or visit http://www.harnessmuseum.com/.

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