Harness racing's Hall of Fame is a structure that embodies the rich history of our sport. On Sunday (July 7) a worthy group of new members with accomplishments in all facets of the industry will be enshrined at a ceremony in Goshen, New York. Though great horses were the inspiration for the Hall of Fame, honors tend to fall to those who have cared for the horses and those who have driven them to great heights on the sport's biggest stages. Trainer Jim Campbell may have stood in the shadow while his big brother John was winning an historical number of major races on his way to induction into this very Hall, but that didn't mean he wasn't working. Jim Campbell was as busy behind the scenes, and eventually that hard work would lead to great success on the track. Jim Campbell has over the years cultivated some great talent and captured the sport's biggest races, sometimes even two of the sport's biggest races on the exact same day. Such was the case just two years ago in 2022 when the Campbell-trained Cool Papa Bell captured the Hambletonian just an hour after his Fashion Schooner had won the Hambletonian Oaks at the Meadowlands. Jim Campbell's dedication to the sport and most importantly the owners that have supported him, is quite evident in the journey through the annals of the sport's history and to his rightful spot in Goshen. Campbell gained acclaim way back in 1995 when his brother John drove Tagliabue for his stable to capture his first Hambletonian and returned to the sport's biggest stage in 2009 to join Broadway Schooner in the winner's circle when she captured his first Hambletonian Oaks. While longevity alone should not be a requirement for admission into this Hall of Fame, the test of time for Jim Campbell has come with the long bond he has enjoyed with owners. Jules Siegel, who owned and bred Fashion Schooner, has been the beneficiary of a long association with the trainer, and Cool Papa Bell's owner Scott Farber is a second-generation supporter of Jim Campbell's work. Owner and breeder David McDuffee has been a lifetime supporter of the sport. While owning and breeding are two necessary parts to the racing business, McDuffee's involvement has meant more than that to this sport and for that his induction is most richly deserved. More specifically when speaking of McDuffee, one must remember the options available and decisions made when it came to sending a few horses off to a second career or seeing them return to the racetrack. In the case of Bee A Magician, a horse McDuffee co-owned, a return to the racetrack was both good for the owners and good for the sport as the champion trotting mare would follow up an undefeated Horse of the Year campaign in 2013 – winning all 17 of her races – with 42 more starts over the following three years. When she retired, Bee A Magician had won 45 races and over $4 million. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Many owners with top racing mares sell them before they become broodmares as the risk and timeline change. Then there are owners that fall in love with a filly or mare and the bloodlines that produce champions. Such was the case of McDuffee with a trotting filly he campaigned in 2002-03 with trainer Brett Pelling named Pizza Dolce. Pizza Dolce was a multiple stakes winner as a freshman and returned as a sophomore to capture the Kentucky Futurity filly division on her way to career earnings of $668K. Pizza Dolce's retirement from racing paid near-immediate dividends when her first foal Bella Dolce arrived in 2005. The Kadabra-sired homebred (McDuffee shared ownership in the Ontario-based stallion), would go on to an impressive stakes-winning career, capturing 15 of her 29 career starts for earnings of $730K. Like her mother before, McDuffee would try Bella Dolce as a broodmare, but this time results were not as quick. McDuffee kept trying to find the right stallion for a mare he really believed in. It would take eight attempts but finally in 2018 the right horse arrived with Bella Bellini, a filly and first offering from the mare by Bar Hopping that was the winning combination. Bella Bellini was, as we now know, not an instant hit. In fact far from it considering she went winless in seven starts as a 2-year-old in 2020. McDuffee believed in Bella Bellini, as did trainer Nifty Norman. So instead of selling her, McDuffee staked her as a 3-year-old, and she rewarded him with a Hambletonian Oaks trophy and a Breeders Crown win in 2021. McDuffee had options following Bella Bellini's sophomore year but he didn't waver. Clearly recognizing the value his trotting mare brought to the stage and the sport, he raced her as a 4-year-old. The definition of a true sportsman, David McDuffee earned a rightful spot in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame added a communicator's wing many years back to honor those that have told the story of the great achievements on and off the racetrack. The sport lost one of its best suddenly and shockingly in 2022 when Dave Brower passed away at the age of 53. Most of the racing industry got to know Dave through his work at the Meadowlands, first as an on-air analyst. He would go on to co-host Hambletonian broadcasts from the track and later would go beyond New Jersey with annual appearances during the Grand Circuit at the Delaware County Fair for the Little Brown Jug and accompanying stakes, and then for two weeks each year at Lexington's famed Red Mile. I got to know Dave during an earlier period in his life as he looked for a way to get into this sport after graduating from St. John's University and got the attention of Sports Eye staff members. As editor of the publication at the time, I hired Dave on the recommendation that he was bright, hard-working and loved the sport, attributes shared by most of the paper's staff. Dave became a chartcaller at the Meadowlands for the publication, a job that was not easy to master. With 10 or more horses to write about following each race, it would be easy to overlook something that happened during the race to one or more. Dave was thorough while not being wordy. He had a gamblers mentality, something of incredible value to a publication designed for the betting public. What shined most when Dave would later take his talents on-screen at the Meadowlands was his incredible perspective of the horses, drivers and trainers that he had honed his skills on by watching on a nightly basis. One must know not just how to watch a race but what to watch for to understand what valuable information Dave was bringing to the public. Handicappers can be separated by the ones that read a program well, and those that need no program because they have memorized what they have seen on the track. Dave knew what he saw and was able to seamlessly convey that information to a public in a way that resonated with the sport's fans and bettors alike. For a life too short spent promoting the sport, Dave Brower's story should be told in the Harness Hall of Fame. Veteran trainer-driver Ed Lohmeyer and communicator Tim Bojarski will enter the Hall on Sunday as well. Lohmeyer would be competitive among the sport's elite drivers at Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways. He would later develop young horses, most notably the champion Pacific Rocket, who came on the scene as a freshman in 1993 and go on to earn $2.3 million in his career. Tim Bojarski's commitment to the history of the sport has been evident in his columns in Hoof Beats and beyond. He's helped promote the sport whenever and wherever he can through the years, most deserving in placement among the best in the Communicator's wing. This year's equine Hall of Fame class is rich with stars from the last decade. Mission Brief, Tall Dark Stranger and Gimpanzee accomplished so much on the track to justify a permanent spot in the Hall. Wiggle It Jiggleit in my mind stands alone for the value he brought to the sport, not just when he won races. It is often forgotten in history what the elements are to prove greatness. In the case of Wiggle It Jiggleit, it was heart while battling the best of his generation, horses that likely would have been the best in any generation. The bitter struggles between Wiggle It Jiggleit, Freaky Feet Pete and Always B Miki made 2016 perhaps the most watchable year the sport has ever seen. That came a year after Wiggle It Jiggleit defied all odds winning the Little Brown Jug. A winner of 37 of his 50 races during his 3 and 4-year-old years (2015-16), Wiggle It Jiggleit gets an honor he's deserved for some time. [EDITOR'S NOTE: For Hall of Fame dinner tickets ($150) call 845-294-6330. The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, 240 Main Street, Goshen, New York is open 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and there is free admission this weekend. Historic Track will be racing with a post time of 1:00 p.m., July 5-7.