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2010~Dave Rankin
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2009~David Miller
David Miller has been one of North America’s top drivers for more than a decade. The Columbus, Ohio, native dominated racing in his home state, winning the Scioto Downs driving title from 1991-98 and led the sire stakes circuit from 1992-98.
Miller, 45, moved to the East Coast in 1999. He guided No Pan Intended to the Pacing Triple Crown and Horse of the Year honors in 2003 and was one of just two drivers, joining Ron Pierce, to earn more than $100 million from 2000-09. Among his top wins are nine Breeders Crowns and two Little Brown Jugs.
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2008~Jerome Osborne
This successful Mentor businessman has been a pillar of support for Ohio harness racing for many decades as both a breeder and owner.
He campaigned the superb colt star Osborne Creed in the early 1970s and later enjoyed the accomplished of Justabit Of Magic, Sharky Osborne, Osborne’s Gypsy, and Empress Osborne.
His beloved Majestic Osborne was the dominant horse in the Ohio Sires Stakes for several seasons in the 1990s.
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2007~Robert E. O’Donnell
This successful businessman assembled a peerless broodmare band at his Hobby Horse Farms in Grafton. For many years he was one of the nation’s small leading breeders.
He bred for the national market and many of his yearlings brought six-figure prices. He also trained and drove many of his pacers, including Impatiens, Richelle Hanover, and others.
Perhaps his proudest moment came in 2005 when he was at Delaware to watch P-Forty-Seven, trained by his son Kelly, win the Little Brown Jug.
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2006~Ivan Sugg
Ivan Sugg gained national fame as a youngster driving the pacing mare Glad Rags against top pacers like Meadow Skipper and Timely Beauty.
He is a respected horseman who turned out many reliable performers before striking gold in the pacing colt No Pan Intended, winner of the Little Brown Jug and Triple Crown in 2003.
No Pan Intended won 17 of his 21 starts that year and finished second three times. The colt was also named Horse of the Year. His sons Kurt and Duke are also successful trainers.
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2005~Terry Holton
This popular Newark horseman was everyone’s friend and always had a good word for others. He was a mainstay at the Ohio harness scene for
many decades, racing such outstanding horses as
Clever Napoleon, Playboy Hanover, Travelogue, and others. He won over 1,700 races, including many driving titles at Scioto Downs.
He encouraged many young people to pursue a career in racing and inspired his fellow horsemen by waging a courageous but ultimately losing battle against cancer. |
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2004~W.D. "Tom" Thomson
Born into both the newspaper and harness racing business, Tom Thomson grew up in the management of the Delaware County Gazette and assisted his father Hank in the famed log cabin that served as the racing office at the Delaware County Fair.
He has been active for many years as president of the Grand Circuit. He’s taken great pains to maintain the traditions that made the Little Brown Jug such a special event in harness racing. He was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame in Goshen. N.Y. in 2005. |
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2003~Sam O. "Chip" Noble III
The quiet excellence of this Xenia horseman was apparent from the beginning of his career as a driver. He combines a strong work ethic with superior horsemanship skills to be one of the most respected trainers and drivers in Ohio history.
He’s driven in the Little Brown Jug and Hambletonian and won numerous Ohio Sires Stakes events. He campaigned Nobleland Sam, who
later became an influential stallion. He represented his country in the World Driving Championship in 2001 and 2003.
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2002~Robert E. Sidley
The Sidley name has been synonymous with harness racing in northeast Ohio for many decades. Bob owned and operated Northern Farms, a breeding operation in Painesville, for many years.
He i*s a pillar of support for the harness racing program at the Lake County Fair and the track was named in his honor in recent years.
He is also in the Ohio Fair Managers Hall of Fame and was active in the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association as president.
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2001~Roger Huston
His voice is the most distinctive and most recognized voice in the sport. Born and raised in Xenia, Roger broke into announcing races at the county fair, learning from his uncle Don, a longtime announcer.
Roger worked as an announcer at The Red Mile, Pompano Park, and relocated to The Meadows in western Pennsylvania in 1976. He has been the voice of the Little Brown Jug since 1967.
He has called races at harness tracks all over North America and in many foreign countries. |
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2000~Richard Brandt
 If the sport ever needed a role model for a horseman and gentleman, they could find no better example than Dick Brandt of Logan. This World War II veteran trained and raced many top horses, including Chet Lynn Hayes, Ocean Mouth, Town Leader and was also one of the founders of the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association. His son Dick, Jr. has also been active in the sport.
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1999~Thomas E. Aldrich
Educated as a lawyer, Aldrich worked for Harness Tracks of America and later the Ohio Harness
Horseman’s Assn. before getting into track management, first at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland, and then at Northfield Park.
He spearheaded a remarkable turnaround at Northfield and earned industry-wide laurels. He served as president of Harness Tracks of America.
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1998~Charles A. Sylvester
This northwest Ohio native started racing horses at the Ohio county fairs, training and driving inexpensive horses and making them successful.
He worked his way up to Grand Circuit stock and made a splash when his colt Diamond Exchange won the World Trotting Derby in 1982. He then followed by developing Hambletonian winners Mack Lobell, Park Avenue Joe, Muscles Yankee, and Chip Chip Hooray.
He also developed the world champion Pine Chip, who set the world trotting record at 1:51 in 1994. He was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame in 1997.
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1997~Carl Milstein
This Cleveland real estate developer purchased
Northfield Park and hired top talent, then watched the track undergo a business revival and earn national recognition.
Top Grand Circuit horses came to Northfield and events such as the Breeders Crown helped showcase the sport in the state’s largest market. His son Brock assumed the leadership role at Northfield after Carl’s death. |
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1996~Willam S. Brown
Raised in Lebanon, Brown worked for Ohio horseman W.N.
"Doc" McMillen and later for Frank Ervin with the Castleton Farm racing stable.
He took over management of Castleton Farm in the early 1960s and presided over such stallions as Victory Song, Worthy Boy, Good Time, Speedster, and Speedy Scot. After a decade, he moved to establish Blue Chip Farm in New York and guided the great stallion Most Happy Fella to success.
He was widely respected for his work ethic and impeccable character. He was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame in 1997.
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1995~Robert Steele
Bob Steele was a tower of strength in the central Ohio racing community for a half-century. He presided over the pari-mutuel meeting at the Hilliard fairgrounds, then supervised the construction of Scioto Downs, which opened in 1959. It was soon nicknamed "Ohio’s Showplace of Racing."
He served as Scioto’s general manager for four decades. Steele worked as a presiding judge at the Delaware County Fair and also at The Red Mile in Kentucky. |
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1994~Don E. Mossbarger, D.V.M.
Dr. Don Mossbarger is a very popular veterinarian from Fayette Couty who established Midland Acres in the late 1960s and watched it become Ohio’s largest and most influential farm. Such important stallions as Speed In Action, Final Score, and Nobleland Sam stood at Midland Acres.
His sons John, a veterinarian and Jay, Midland Acres' Farm Manager, followed their father into the Standardbred world and took active roles in state associations and in promotion of the sport.
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1993~Jerry Kaltenbach
 This Hilliard resident was one of the most effectively organizers and supporters of the harness racing industry in Ohio. He was a founder of the Ohio Sires Stakes, active on the Ohio Standardbred Development Fund and in the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association, and was a driving force behind the Franklin County Fair.
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1992~John L. Hervey
Hervey grew up in northeastern Ohio and fell in love with harness racing as a young boy. As a young man in the 1890s, he went off to Chicago to join the staff of The Horse Review, where he worked for almost four decades. He was the sport’s foremost historian and wrote ornate, flowing prose about the best horses and horsemen of his time and even back to the mid-1800s.
Starting in the 1930s, he wrote for both The Harness Horse and Hoof Beats and finished his masterpiece The American Trotter just before his death in late 1947.
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1991~Larry Evans
Larry Evans was the U.S. Trotting Association’s connection to the county fairs around the country. He wrote a monthly "Fair Affairs" column in Hoof Beats and each one ended with the words "Fair enough."
He was a popular after-dinner speaker at colt circuit banquets and was known for his homespun humor. Prior to joining the USTA, he had covered harness racing at Rosecroft Raceway for a Washington newspaper. He handicapped under the name "Dan Patch."
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1990~Richard M. Buxton
A native of Mount Vernon, Dick Buxton learned his trade under the legendary Wayne "Curly" Smart and achieved national prominence in the late 1950s driving the superb
trotting gelding Senator Frost.
He developed the Buxton martingale which gained worldwide popularity. The trotting mare Killbuck Mary was a standout performer for Buxton for many years in the early 1970s and he won heats of the Fox Stake and Little Brown Jug with the pacer Faraway Bay.
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1989~Dr. Hugh M. Parshall
This extraordinary horseman grew up in the Hillsboro area and first trained at Washington Court House, but was later based in Urbana. He graduated from veterinary school, but preferred training and racing horses to practicing veterinary medicine.
He first gained national attention when he tamed the renegade pacer Counterpart and made him successful. He won the Hambletonian in 1934 with Lord Jim and with Peter Astra in 1939.
He selected and developed Lusty Song and Dudley Hanover, winners of the Hambletonian and Little Brown Jug, respectively, in 1950, but was too ill to drive them.
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1988~William N. "Doc" McMillen
This London horseman was a towering influence in Buckeye harness racing for many decades, not only for his success on the track but also for the many successful horsemen who apprenticed under him.
During the Depression, he enjoyed great success racing the trotter Peter Cowl purchased considerable real estate in Madison County. His best horses included Prince Philip, Director The Great, and Ellen W.
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1987~Gene Riegle
When he was just in his 20s, Riegle earned respect when he raced the man-eating pacer Red Sails with great success. He achieved prominence with the pacer Don Parker in the early 1960s and then sent forth a string of stakes performers from his base at the Darke Co. fairgrounds.
He developed Jay Time, Arnie Almahurst, Three Diamonds, and Leah Almahurst. He developed and raced a trio of pacing colts---Artsplace, Western Hanover, and Life Sign---who achieved extraordinary success on the track and became influential as stallions. He was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame in 1991.
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1986~Corwin Nixon
Nixon was a native of Warren County and began selling programs at the county fairs. He later became president and general manager of Lebanon Raceway.
He enjoyed great success as an amateur driver and especially loved the trotter Smolder. Nixon served in the Ohio House of Representatives and rose to become House Minority leader for the Republican Party.
He also served as president of the US Trotting Association and was induced into the national Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY in 1992.
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1985~Don R. Millar
A native of Wisconsin, Millar first worked as a journalist and then took over management of the U.S. Trotting Association as a young man. He presided over the association during its years of extraordinary growth and influence.
As a breeder, Miller maintained a small broodmare band for many years and was the co-breeder with his longtime friend John Thro of the Hambletonian-winning brothers Timothy T and Christopher T as well as Cora T, winner of the Hambletonian Oaks.
Millar also bred Hambletonian winner Steve Lobell under the name of his Bonnie Keek Farm. In 1991, he was elected to the Living Hall of Fame. |
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1984~Dr. John Jackman
A graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1919 and was named the school’s Distinguished Alumnus in 1962.
"Doc Jackman," as he was known by all, was revered for his insight into Standardbred lameness problems. Many of the state’s best horsemen sought his counsel when confronting problems.
He was close friends with Charlie Hill of Hill Farm and Scioto Downs and the two men were almost inseparable in their later years. He owned the trotter Hiland Hill, a son of B.F. Coaltown bred by Hill.
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1983~William B. Murray
Bill Murray was born into the horse business at his family’s Bonnie Brae Farm in Wellington. His father had trained horses in Czarist Russia and father and son worked together to breed and market Standardbreds for decades.
Murray stood such noteworthy stallions as The Widower, Combat Time and Melvin’s Woe. He was widely respected by his fellow breeders and was active as a director of the U.S. Trotting Association for many years.
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1982~Joseph Neville
Neville was an attorney by profession, but horses and horse racing was his real passion. He was the mastermind behind the creation of the Little Brown Jug and steered its with his dynamic energy through it early years.
He owned many good horses himself, including Milestone, Eddie Havens, and Iosola’s Ensign. He served as legal counsel for the USTA and was also a director of that organization.
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1981~Henry "Hank" Thomson
Thomson was born into the newspaper business
in Delaware and was a respected businessman
and community leader when he partnered with
Joe Neville to establish the Little Brown Jug as
the premiere race for pacers.
Thomson helped promote the new race through
his newspaper and headed the racing program
as the Delaware Grand Circuit meet became a
popular stop for the best horses in North America.
He was elected to the Living Hall of Fame in 1988.
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1980~Charles D. Hill
This flamboyant Columbus businessman, known for his colorful sports coats, loved harness racing and he was a pillar of strength for Ohio harness racing for decades.
In the post-World War II years he established a pari-mutuel harness meet at the Franklin Co. fairgrounds in Hilliard and also established his Hill Farm breeding operation nearby.
He stood such notable stallions as Hi Hill, B F Coaltown, and later his pride and joy Falcon Almahurst, a heat winner in the 1978 Little brown Jug. Hill opened Scioto Downs, Ohio’s Showplace of Racing, in 1959.
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1979~Wayne "Curly" Smart
This sage horseman was a legend during his lifetime, not only for his horsemanship but also for his meticulous care of the famed half-mile oval at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.
It was over this steeply-banked oval that Smart drove Ensign Hanover to victory in the first Little Brown Jug in 1946.
He later won the Jug driving Meadow Rice in 1953 and was second to Bret Hanover with Tuxedo Hanover in 1965. He was widely respected by his peers and famous for his homespun wisdom. |
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1978~Robert G. Farrington
He stunned harness racing when he won more than 2000 races in 1961, but he wasn’t done winning races and retired with 3,163 victories. He popularized the year-round stable long before winter racing became acceptable.
He campaigned the fabled gelding Rambling Willie---"The Horse That God Loved"---in the late 1970s and early 80s. Elected to the Living Hall of Fame in 1979.
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1977~Howard Beissinger
A native of Hamilton, Howard grew up on a family farm and never lost the extraordinary work ethic of a youngster growing up during the Depression.
He achieved success as a trainer and driver on the tough Chicago circuit in the 1960s and later specialized in developing Grand Circuit stakes performers.
He won the Triple Crown with Lindy’s Pride in 1969 and repeated his Hambletonian triumph again in 1971 with Speedy Crown, a colt raised on the Beissinger farm. He added his third Hambletonian with Speedy Somolli in 1978. He was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame in 1974.
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1976~Walter J. Michael
This successful businessman established Pickwick Farm near Bucyrus in the 1950s and stood the influential stallion Gene Abbe there, along with many others.
Michael named the horse he bred using either a "Pick" or a "Wick" suffix.
In 1957 he started Northfield Park in Cleveland and then served as president of the US Trotting Association for more than a decade. He was elected to the Living Hall of Fame in 1966. |
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1975~Stephen G. Phillips
In a very real sense, Phillips was responsible for the explosive growth of harness racing after World War II because he perfected the mobile starting gate that revolutionized the sport.
The Xenia native was a veteran starter under the "open scoring" method for years and even started the first Hambletonian in 1926. He knew, however, that there was better way to start races.
He introduced his prototype gate at Roosevelt Raceway in 1946 and harness racing exploded. He was elected to the Living Hall of Fame in 1961 as part of its inaugural class. |
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1974~Edward F. "Pop" Geers
Geers was universally beloved within the sport for his horsemanship, integrity, and his monumental achievements on the track.
He was known as the "Silent Man from Tennessee" because he preferred to let his horses doing the talking. He achieved success first in the late 1800s and continued winning into the new century.
Many of his finest moments came in Ohio. There is a Geers Avenue in the Driving Park section of Columbus named in his honor Geers died as a result of a racing accident in West Virginia in 1924. |
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