The outpouring of support and grief proves, once again, that harness racing has the best people.

by Brett Sturman 

Under devastating circumstances that saw driver Hunter Myers lose his life from injuries sustained in an accident on Wednesday (March 19) in a race at The Meadows, the response from the harness racing community has been nothing short of uplifting in an otherwise tragic time.

The outpouring of love and emotion that can be seen throughout all social media and other forms of communication by countless individuals and organizations that have come together to honor Myers and provide support to his fiancée and young son has shown how close knit the industry is. An Ohio native who drove most often at The Meadows and at Northfield Park, the response from the industry to the Myers accident transcends any specific driving colony.

This weekend, drivers at Woodbine Mohawk Park have come together to pledge earnings from their races across Friday and Saturday towards Myers’ family. Those drivers are far from the only ones who have committed to donate varying amounts of their earnings in support of Myers, though in these times of cross-border tensions, it’s touching to see the amount of support from our friends to the North.

Drivers and horsepeople gathered in moments of silence over the past days in Ontario not only at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but also at Flamboro Downs. Drivers at Mohawk drove with Hunter Myers decals on their race bikes Thursday, and a touching moment came from the track when James MacDonald gave a point to the sky approaching the wire en route to winning that night’s fourth race.

More locally, the industry response has been overwhelmingly inspiring. As one example, The Meadowlands honored Hunter Myers as they resumed racing on Friday for the first time since the accident. Like Mohawk, the track offered human and horse ribbons to be worn, as well as race bike decals and arm bands. They also announced along with the SBOANJ that next Saturday there will be a race in which all revenue’s generated will be matched by owner Jeff Gural and donated to Myers’ family.

The outpouring of similar support including direct contributions and fundraising efforts seen just over the past couple of days from different tracks, horsemen’s organizations, individuals, and charitable groups that Myers supported has truly been vast. It hasn’t been limited only to people working currently within the industry, either.

In one Facebook post where condolences were being expressed, a person wrote “What about us fans, can we contribute somewhere?” which prompted similar responses by those who may have been involved in the sport at one point and by those who are simply enthusiasts, wanting to contribute. And contribute people have.

A GoFundMe campaign in honor of Myers was created on behalf of his family, and as of this print there has been over $35,000 raised in just over one day, easily exceeding the listed campaign goal of $10,000. There has also been links shared where those can contribute directly through Venmo to Myers’ fiancée, Chloe.

As unfortunate as it is, it’s moments like these that put in perspective what’s important. For all the problems harness racing has, and that does include an increasing number of accidents that should be looked at in due course, in this exact moment none of the day-to-day issues matter.

The magnitude of the industry response is a direct reflection to who Myers was as a person, and perhaps that’s why this loss has taken on a bit of a different feel than prior on-track tragedies. Peer and friend Anthony MacDonald summarized it well in a video published Thursday. Beyond being described as a great talent with a great set of hands, Anthony thought about it more and said “A really great kid… The way he acts, behaves, the way he approached his life was much like how anyone would want their sons or daughters [to be]. Happy, upbeat, respectful, polite, loved his family.”

As has been widely noted, Myers was just 27 years old at the time of his death and was a rising star in the sport.

By the numbers, Myers was coming off three consecutive years in which he posted over $4 million in earnings, with 2024 being his best year yet with $4,582,394 in earnings. With 2,450 lifetime wins, he has touched the connections of every one of those horses and for that matter has done the same with connections of the 19,608 lifetime drives.

There have only been a handful of trotters to win in a time under 1:50, and Myers is part of that group, owning the trotting all-age track record at The Meadows with Jujubee in 1:49.3 taken in 2021. Earnings-wise, Myers’ biggest career win came last year when he drove Allegiant to a win in the $100,000 Moni Maker at Scioto Downs. That win had come one race after Myers drove Allegiant to a win in the Currier & Ives stake at The Meadows, and he was quoted after the Moni Maker win describing the race, “Me having to come first up, I was a little worried about it, but knowing how good she was the previous weeks, I was pretty confident on how she was going to handle herself.”

Having won both of those stake races without being favored, Allegiant turned it on in the latter stages of the year and would go on to win Dan Patch honors as the division’s best 3-year-old filly trotter. There’s a picture that’s made the rounds in recent days that shows Myers in the winner’s circle at Scioto following the Moni Maker win, surrounded by Moni Maker’s training and driving connections of Hall of Famer’s Jimmy Takter and Wally Hennessey – what better of an illustration to show a young driver who had emerged as one of the sports better ones.

These past days have shown not only a deeper glimpse into Myers as a professional and as a person, but all the positive the harness racing community is capable of when coming together.