Industry veterans Rick Moore, Gary Wilcox newest IHRA Hall of Fame inductees
by James Platz
Rick Moore, Gary Wilcox, and Bob Cherry have each made lasting contributions to Indiana harness racing. Last month they were recognized for their efforts as the newest inductees into the Indiana Horse Racing Association, Inc. Hall of Fame. Ceremonies were held Monday (Nov. 4) at Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino in Shelbyville.
Long before his arrival at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, Moore got his start in racing as a ticket checker at Lebanon Raceway. He was first on the payroll at a track when he served as a $2 show ticket seller at Latonia Trots. Moore would move his way up the ladder after graduating from the University of Kentucky with a degree in business administration. He worked in the mutuels department at Remington Park, rising to assistant mutuels manager and money room manager. By 1991, Moore transitioned to mutuels manager at Churchill Downs before advancing to general manager of the track’s Sport Spectrum facility. He was part of the team that helped conduct the inaugural season of harness racing at Hoosier Park in 1994, tabbed as interim general manager, a position that became full-time shortly thereafter.
Under Moore’s guidance, Hoosier Park blossomed from an upstart dual-breed track in central Indiana to a prominent player on the national stage. The track’s signature event, the Dan Patch Stakes, has steadily grown in prestige, recently elevated to Grade 1 status for 2026. During his tenure as vice president/general manager of racing for the Anderson oval, Hoosier Park hosted the Breeders Crown for the first time in 2017. The championship events returned in 2020 and 2023. Moore stepped into semi-retirement following the 2024 season.
Moore currently serves on the board of the Standardbred Transition Alliance. He is a past member of the Indiana Horse Racing and Breeders Coalition, as well as past president of the Indiana Horse Racing Association. Moore is a 2018 inductee into the Quarter Horse Racing Association Hall of Fame and was the 2007 recipient of the Indiana State Fair Man of the Year award.
Wilcox has participated in harness racing for over seven decades. Born and raised in Urbana, IN, upon graduation he became a full-time farmer. Introduced to harness horses as a child through his grandfather, Wilcox began to dabble in breeding and racing, building a four-tenths-of-a-mile training track at the family’s Brooklet Farm. The second stallion he stood, Trutar Hanover, produced pacer Brooklets Pride. The mare went on to win 24 times, accumulated $181,000 (in the early ’80s) and set a world record at Sportsman’s Park in 1984, pacing the mile in 1:54.1.
Wilcox stood Armbro Century from 1988 through the 2005 breeding season. The son of Most Happy Fella sired winners of more than $3 million including Brooklets Redneck p, 6, 1:50.2m ($470,263), Brooklets Hotshot p, 7, 1:52.3s ($316,963), and Brooklet Broomtail p, 5, 1:52.3s ($246,420). Abercrombie son Personal Power also stood at Brooklet Farm, producing winners of over $5 million led by Premieronbroadway p, 4, 1:49m ($572,967), Brooklets Spencer p, 4, 1:50.4m ($566,963), and Brooklets Banner p, 6, 1:48.2s ($163,214), the lone progeny from the stallion that started in 2025.
Wilcox played key roles in shaping the first pari-mutuel bill in Indiana as well as the framework for what is now the state’s sires stakes program.
Cherry served in the Indiana House of Representatives for 26 years, and during that time, he was known as a champion for agriculture in the state. During his time in the legislature, he grew to understand the importance of racing to the state, as well as its agricultural ties. He has worked to ensure that the racing industry not just survives, but thrives in the Hoosier State. Cherry continues to serve the industry as a recent appointee to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission.
Moore, Wilcox and Cherry join 27 past IHRA Hall of Fame inductees. The list includes harness racing participants Lawrence Borst, Ralph Wilfong, Lynn Wilfong, Harold Barnes, Howard Peterson, Ernie Gaskin, Don Eash, Joe Putnam, Jay Cross, and Ellen Taylor. Portraits of each inductee are on display in the mezzanine at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
