Howard Camden dies

Howard Belvin Camden, who trained and drove Adios Boy, the first 2-year-old pacer to break the 2:00 barrier, died Nov. 4 at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township, N.J. He was 76.

Mr. Camden first began working for East Coast-based trainer Louis Floyd after graduating from high school in 1947. He then began working for Hall of Fame trainer Stanley Dancer, but was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1949. He received a Purple Heart as a result of his actions in the Korean War, suffering severe shrapnel wounds after being struck by artillery fire.

Upon his discharge from the Army, Mr. Camden began training horses on his own, with one of those being the J.S. Turner-owned Adios Boy, a son of the great Adios. In July 1953, with Mr. Camden in the sulky, Adios Boy became the fastest juvenile pacer on a half-mile track when he won in 2:03, which he followed up several weeks later with his world-record 1:58.3 effort on Oct. 3, 1953, at The Red Mile.

Being lightly-staked as a 3 year old Adios Boy had to mainly compete against older horses. Despite not competing heavily against his divisional peers—including not being eligible to the Little Brown Jug—Adios Boy was still voted 1954’s Three-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year. As a 4 year old, Adios Boy became the first 2:00 pacer in Yonkers Raceway history when posted a 1:59.4 victory on Sept. 2, 1955.

Other top horses trained by Mr. Camden include Silver Song, a free-for-all trotter who won the 1960 American Trotting Championship at Roosevelt Raceway and earned a spot to represent the United States in the Roosevelt International Trot, where he finished third to Holland’s Hairos II.

“Adios Boy and Silver Song were my father’s pride and joy,” said Mr. Camden’s son, Ronald, a former trainer and driver who retired in 1996.

Mr. Camden also trained Caramore, who won the 1981 New Jersey Classic at the Meadowlands on his way to New Jersey Horse of the Year honors. Another of his top horses was Hobo’s Willy, who set a world record for 3-year-old pacing geldings when he won in 1:53 at the Meadowlands on May 26, 1984.

Mr. Camden was annually among the leading trainers at Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways and the Meadowlands. At the Big M he tied for fourth in wins in 1984 and tied for second in wins in 1985.

In 1975 Mr. Camden founded the Police Department in Colts Neck, N.J., serving as lieutenant, then captain, for 19 years before his retirement in 1995. He also served as a director of the New Jersey Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association for more than a decade.

Mr. Camden is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joyce; a daughter and son-in-law, Sandra and Phil Wegelin; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Delvin and Elizabeth Camden and Ronald Camden; a sister, Thelma Kaiser; and a granddaughter, Jessica Wegelin.

Funeral services for Mr. Camden were held Wednesday, Nov. 8. Memorial contributions may be made to the Colts Neck PBA Local 333, Cedar Drive, Colts Neck, N.J. 07722.

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