by John Berry

Goshen, NY, is a wonderful, beautiful, quaint town of less than 15,000 residents just about 60 miles north of Yonkers Raceway.

It is the cradle of harness racing and features our magnificent and prestigious Hall of Fame, located on Main Street.

The population of “residents” in the hallowed halls of the museum — both human and equine, past and present — number about 700 with another “Hall” dedicated to those that make our participants look as great as they are, the journalists / communicators.

Yes, the roads get mighty crowded during Hall of Fame weekend, and rightfully so as harness racing enthusiasts, literally, from around the world, converge at 240 Main Street to celebrate the illustrious sport of harness racing and the races that transpire at the iconic half-mile oval in their backyard, with its history dating back to 1838.

First, though, an analogy…

Way back when the automobile first came into vogue, they traveled on uncluttered roads with little in the way of congestion.

There were around 8,000 automobiles on those roads in 1900.

Today, there are almost 300,000,000 on our paved roads and highways, many of which become clogged to a crawl during rush hours, or anytime in New York, D.C. or on I-95.

So, what does that have to do with our sport?

There are clogged roads leading to 240 Main Street in Goshen, NY, just in a different perspective.

As our Hall of Fame began to recognize the accomplishments of our great folk on both sides of the “fence,” it was evident and easy to honor those deserving individuals for their contributions that make our sport the iconic one it is.

Naming just a couple — George Morton Levy and Steve Phillips come to mind — with both having played vital roles in the growth and popularity of our sport.

As time went by, our Hall of Fame enshrined the likes of Billy Haughton, Stanley Dancer, Frank Ervin, Delvin Miller and Thurman Wayne “Curly” Smart; all honored in the 1960’s for their greatness next to the hub rails, as that magnificent structure in Goshen emerged from its infancy.

Just as the roads have become clogged with cars going, virtually, nowhere, harness racing has become clogged with stars and the backlog for entrance into our hallowed Halls of Fame is getting worse year-by-year.

Levi Harner, for example, a 1985 HOF inductee, won the dash winning crown one year with 105 wins!

No driver had won as many as 200 races in a season until Bob Farrington did it in 1961 with 201.

When my first writing appeared in the Horseman and Fair World in 1964, only one driver had over 2,000 wins and only 25 drivers had over 1,000 trips to the winner’s circle.

Of those 25, 18 of them are in the Hall of Fame with Hugh Bell, Tom Winn, Jimmy Jordan, Eddie Cobb, Lou Rapone, Edgar Leonard and Harry Burright — all grand pioneers in our sport — on the outside and looking in forever.

Today, we have 23 drivers with over 10,000 wins; less than half are in the HOF.

Of course, character and history play a big role when the selection committee meets.

That is very understandable and absolutely needed in the screening process but, as time goes by and puts more distance when it comes to memory with others achieving future stardom, many deserving individuals (and horses) will be left at the post!

Yes, the traffic jam to get in our Hall of Fames — for humans, equines and communicators — can’t get much better unless the roads are widened a bit to get in, I.e., not limited in number every year.

I have one that belongs in the immortals category.

Remember Bill Wick?

Of course, you DON’T!

Wick was “foaled” about 103 years ago — this month, in fact — and, around 1950, began shoeing horses.

He traveled the Grand Circuit and was so great at his trade that he was sought out for his expertise.

During his 19 years on the Grand Circuit, he shod 19 Hambletonian winners in DuQuoin and 18 Little Brown Jug winners at Delaware, OH.

He plied his trade at Pompano Park and Vernon Downs thereafter and is all but forgotten as the years have slowly erased his accomplishments.

Here’s another one.

Why isn’t “Deuce” in the Communicators Hall of Fame?

Hugh Ducey has recorded more of the history of our sport that just about everyone.

The great George Smallsreed was responsible for the Grand Circuit and Mark Hall has continued with his incredible work over the years — both in the HOF — and Ducey’s history goes back to the era of President Gerald Ford (his speech in New Jersey) and his work for the NBA Knicks and NHL Rangers.

Harness racing was fortunate when Jim Raftery hired Ducey when The Meadowlands opened in 1976.

In these eyes, he became the “voice” of harness racing in photographs; horses, owners, trainers and drivers.

For the past 30 years, he’s been plying his trade for The Hambletonian Society preserving the most magical moments in our sport.

The click of a camera is silent, but his work speaks loudly in volumes, many of them!

There are so many stuck in traffic, Zeke Parker and Vicky Howard, just a couple of them.

To our Mane Attraction readers here in HRU, and realizing the traffic jams throughout the nation every day, the biggest and most important traffic jam is in Goshen, New York as many deserving equine athletes, drivers, trainers, owners and breeders seem to be caught in traffic leaving them a block away from 240 Main Street, but miles away from our grand Hall of Fame.

And there seems to be no solution.

MAY THE HORSE BE WITH YOU