Wally Hennessey is the definition of the William Haughton Good Guy Award
by John Berry
About 1:49.3 after the announcement of Wally Hennessey as the winner of the William R. Haughton Good Guy Award, HRU’s Debbie Little called and asked, “Since you know Wally as well was anybody, could I impose on you to write a column about it?”
“Is there a cow in Texas?” I responded.
This is a pinnacle honor for me since my first writing appeared in print on Feb. 4, 1961.
But then I got to really thinking about it.
Hennessey has so many friends in this industry — literally hundreds and hundreds and more hundreds — that this honor should be bestowed on them, as well.
So, without further ado, here’s a sampling from around North America of tributes to the William R. Haughton Good Guy Award winner for 2025, Walter James Hennessey.
• Lee Drake, Red Shores Racing, Charlottetown, PEI: “First, so happy to be included in this tribute to a ‘great guy,’ Wally Hennessey. We do go back a long ways as our dads raced against each other here in the Maritimes. The great thing about Wally — we all know about his talent in winning 12,000 races — is that he respects the entire industry and has a very deep respect for the very people that keep racing alive, meaning owners, other horsemen and women, and, as important, the fans.
“I think you’d have to look far and wide to find a horseman that has achieved the same respect as Wally Hennessey. He is the ultimate ambassador for our sport and I am honored to have him as a friend.”
• John Campbell, horseman extraordinaire and, currently president, and chief executive officer of the Hambletonian Society: “Wally has been a ‘good guy’ for many, many years and I am happy that they finally got around to giving him an award. We go back about 40 years and always had a connection as he started on a small track in Prince Edward Island and I at a small track in Ontario, so our education and learning process started out in a very similar manner.
“From the first day we met, I have had the utmost respect for him as a driver and a person and Wally has conducted himself in an exemplary manner here in North America and, of course, in Europe with Moni Maker.
“I am constantly amazed by his ability to compete and win at this stage of his career. At Saratoga, they have a very talented and youthful driving colony and he keeps putting up impressive numbers year after year.
“I’ll close with this, anybody that knows or meets Wally Hennessey, and they spend more than two minutes with him, will be guaranteed to leave with a smile on their face.”
• Paul O’Neil, Saratoga Springs, NY: “It’s difficult to pick out specifics of how Wally fits the Good Guy Award but, for the past 15 years, his integrity, care of our horses, safety and their performance consistently over the years make him, unquestionably, a good guy and sets him in a class by himself.
“That’s the business side of it. The most profitable part of the business has been the friendship that has evolved because of the business, and you can’t put a price on that. We started out with him training a horse he wanted to buy from us all those many years ago and it led to this path — this track, you might say — of a lifetime friendship, which has nothing to do with business, but everything due to him being the great individual he is.
“By the way, Wally, trainer Jaymes McAssey is alongside me and wants to chime in here.”
• Jaymes McAssey, Ft. Edward, NY: “Hey, Wally, they must have had a shortage of good guys this year. You know, just kidding, Wally. There are no sufficient words to describe what you have done for me and harness racing.”
• Mark Beckwith, Wilton, NY: “We all know that Wally is an icon in this business, but to me, he is equally iconic as a father with one instance being when daughter Kristi became extremely ill and Wally turned over every rock to assure she got the best treatment. That proved to me that greatness on the racetrack, sometimes, doesn’t necessarily spill over from there, but in Wally’s case, that solidified his greatness in stone.”
• Mike Murphy, Lexington, KY: “I’ve known friend Wally for many years, and, of course, we all know he’s a great horseman, but beyond that, he has human qualities that are, literally, heroic in nature.
“In 2018, I was in very bad shape with my kidneys failing, and, of course, J.W. Fox, my wife’s son, proved to be a match and he saved my life by donating a kidney to me. But Wally took all my horses behind the gate and won three-in-a-row with Four Socks to save my stable.
“On a lighter note, the last year we raced at Pompano, we were packing to leave the next morning and we had to get our things loaded. Wally drove up with a case of beer for us, and by the time we were going to start to load, we were the ones loaded and we were delayed by a day in getting off the Pompano grounds. Another time, he told us to stop by him are for a sip or two. We did and Wally gave Barbara a Stanley Dancer Stable jacket and a winter jogging suit, and I got a beautiful Wally Hennessey shirt.
“Wally values friendships and we sure do value his. Friendships like Wally’s are rare in this world and he knows how to make anyone feel special.”
• Bill Griffin, Ellabell, GA: “In these eyes, Wally is one of the most upstanding individuals I have ever known. Our friendship goes back many decades and his honesty probably cost him an untold amount of wealth because he would always be honest with owners and would not lead them on if he didn’t think a horse had the potential to become a viable campaigner.
“He just wouldn’t want to take their money if a horse wasn’t responding to learning its lessons and I can testify that I was witness to this honesty on several occasions. He’s more than a good guy, he’s a great guy and a great horseman and friend.”
• Dave Briggs, editor, Harness Racing Update: “The first time I met Wally was during the Moni Maker years, which is such a vivid memory since I loved that mare. Wally made me love her even more thanks to his grand Prince Edward Island personality. I had the great fortune to sit near him when Moni Maker won the Prix d’Amérique — he didn’t drive that day due to the race’s notoriously difficult turn-and-go start. It gave us all ‘goosebumps’ to hear the French people chanting her name as she opened up in the stretch on her way to victory.
“The first time I went to Goshen was the year Wally was inducted into the Hall of Fame and, that, too, stands out as a memorable moment. He’s a great driver, great Canadian, and great ambassador for harness racing — the true definition of a ‘Good Guy’ to garner this award.”
To exemplify his qualifications for this award further, Hennessey has been seen in this light for many years with two examples being the late Jim McDonald, who passed away in March, 2025 and the iconic Bill Galvin, who died in 2020.
Each had their “say” about Wally Hennessey with the following remarks:
• Jim McDonald in an interview in March 2019: “Wally Hennessey means so much to me — and a thousand more like me — as a horseman that has such a keen insight about horses, and, as importantly, their owners. I’ve been asked why I like to use Wally on my horses and my honest answer is, ‘he can’t beat me with someone else’s if he’s on mine.’
“As a person, he has a keen eye on every detail and I have seen him look at a catch drive and notice a hobble being an inch or so from where it was the week before. As a human being, there is no better than Wally, honest with integrity that cannot be surpassed. He’s the greatest asset a stable can ever have.”
• Bill Galvin, the iconic Canadian Hall of Fame horseman, historian, poet, author, publicist, official, and humanitarian: “Wally Hennessey and I go back through the ages when ice racing attracted crowds of 40,000 or more over the frozen ponds throughout our land and Wally showed his patriotism to our sport interacting with fans and horsemen, alike.
“It’s one thing to recognize greatness on the track but quite another to be able to get recognized for his efforts off-track to send that energizing feeling to the many thousands of fans with whom he has shaken hands, given autographs, and told stories about harness racing over the years. If there is anybody deserving of a Good Guy Award, it’s Wally and I know, in my heart, that day will come.”
Author’s note: I consider myself a “nobody” in this business, just someone who loves this sport to the nth degree and fears for its future — not tomorrow or the next day, but decades from now long after I am gone.
To me, the fact that I, as a “nobody,” can be friends with a Wally Hennessey means more to me than any word in a dictionary or thesaurus.
We’ve have been friends for I don’t know how many years, but when a Wally Hennessey calls this “nobody” from a track or a farm to my hospital bed to check on my kidney failure, or calls from 1,420 miles away to reserve a date for lunch a week away, well that is some kind of friend, some kind of great guy.
We have enjoyed wings together in laughter and cried on each other’s shoulder in my office as Pompano Park was gasping for its final breaths.
Friendship covers the good, the bad, the happy and the sad and I have relished every moment along the track of life.
Wally, I hope the feeling is “pari-mutuel.”
May The Horse Be With You!
