Harness: New Hall of Famers to be enshrined Sunday

The next generation of honorees will be firmly inducted into the Harness Racing's Hall of Fame this weekend (Sunday, July 6) in Goshen, New York. It's a solid class anchored by individuals that excelled both on and off the racetrack. As countless have found out, the path to Goshen is much like the path of championship horse racing. It starts with promise for most but ends with just a select few earning championship credentials and elite status within the Hall of Fame. Chris Ryder, Bob Boni, Tom Aldrich and Mal Burroughs represent a wide swath of men and women dedicated to the great sport and honored for distinction.

Some people think longevity in the sport is a virtual guarantee for induction into the Hall of Fame, but that is simply not the case. For Chris Ryder's long history that has mostly been dominated in North America by his training accomplishments, there have been a series of significant bright spots and championship-caliber horses. There have been horses he broke and trained that would later rise to even greater standing with other trainers. Yet most recently in the long timeline has been Ryder's uncanny ability to look through pedigrees, spot individuals, and then see the results play out on the racetrack incredibly well. That it took this long for Ryder to find a Horse of the Year, as Twin B Joe Fresh proved to be in 2024, is perhaps the biggest surprise of his career.

Champion Bettor's Wish and Twin B Joe Fresh emanated from the same maternal line of Three Diamonds, a champion on the racetrack and since a broodmare whose line has flourished for 30 years, with Ryder a major beneficiary.

Despite the success with McArdle and Tattoo Artist, Ryder's work with pacing fillies in the last decade has been astonishing to say the least, with a series of gifted pacers that dominated on the racetrack. Party Girl Hill, Niki Hill, Put On A Show and I Luv The Nitelife paved the way for Ryder's trip to Goshen.

Ryder has also directly and indirectly helped change the landscape on the driver's side of the ledger in this sport over the last decade as a conduit for Down Under drivers. Specifically, Dexter Dunn's emergence in North America would not have been possible without the work of Ryder and his wife Nicola helping to clear the diplomatic hurdles necessary for the budding superstar driver to acclimate to these shores.

With his son Patrick now flourishing on the racetrack as a driver, there's a great chance the family name will continue to rank among the elite in the sport in the future.

Though there is enormous pressure when preparing horses for major races, Ryder has been overly generous with his time with the press, recognizing that sport needs to get out the message to prosper.

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For Bob Boni, the arrival in the Harness Hall of Fame has nothing to do with training or driving horses, but his innate ability to connect with people and recognize talent on the racetrack. A career spent in various capacities behind the scenes to those who watch the races on a regular basis, Boni has been known publicly as a bloodstock agent but that does very little to define his life's impact on this sport in various ways. My knowledge of Bob's impact came in the early days of the Meadowlands when 2-year-old races took off with seven-figure purses and investors from outside the game began to take notice. Boni worked with Wall Street investor Lou Guida to come up with the best 2-year-olds they could find from the first crop of champion Niatross, and that led to Woodrow Wilson winner Nihilator among an incredible group of stars. He found top pacing mares for the Dreamaire stable, a group that was interested in quality pacers that could go on to be valued broodmares.

In the last 20 years or so, Boni has been an active participant with the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey, and through his work with them has helped not just keep the Garden State alive but more recently gotten a significant boost from the government to do so.

"It's the one thing I'm proudest of," said Boni when speaking of how he and fellow horsemen worked tirelessly with interested politicians in New Jersey to forge out an agreement that assured a solid supplement to purses within the state. The legislation also helped revitalize the breeding business that had fallen on hard times due to competition from other states rich from alternative gaming revenue.

Boni's wealth of breeding knowledge is likely surpassed by his capacity to recognize a horse's talent on the racetrack. He's often needed to evaluate horses, with countless owners and trainers seeking out his advice before buying or selling a particular horse.

The late Mal Burroughs first had a hand in helping build the Meadowlands and then went on to win the track's two greatest trotting races, first capturing the Hambletonian Oaks in 1994 with his gifted filly Gleam and then coming back three years later as an amateur driver to win the Hambletonian with Malabar Man, a horse he bred and owned with future Hall of Famer Jimmy Takter as the trainer.

My recollection of Burroughs, from the moment we first met and spoke, was that of a man who believed he could do anything he set his sights upon. In an era where catch-drivers ruled the game, Burroughs, technically an amateur, was so poised in the sulky that he gained the respect of those competing against him. The thought of someone else driving because the Hambletonian was such a big race and a professional might give Malabar Man a better chance at victory never once entered Burroughs' mind. He was focused, understood how to sit behind a horse and knew how to make them go when necessary. His Hambletonian victory came as a surprise to many, but he was not among those.

Unlike the others on the Hall of Fame docket, I have never met Tom Aldrich. He helped build Northfield Park into the force it is today, as well as working at other tracks and horsemen's associations. The Ohio native has a long résumé that certainly seems worthy of enshrinement.

Both Judy-Davis Wilson and Debbie Little have devoted their lives to the promotion of the sport in varied capacities. Wilson spent many years with the Hambletonian Society, working with horsemen to advance stakes racing throughout North America. Debbie Little has a long career in the New York press helping get harness racing noticed in every way possible.

The distinction of becoming Hall of Famers will be official on Sunday for the inductees, though their individual accomplishments have clearly set them apart through the years.

Others being enshrined...

Also being honored are the new members of the Living Horse Hall of Fame: Ariana G, Marion Marauder, Put On A Show and Shartin N, as well as broodmares Fireworks Hanover and Steamy Windows. Lester Hollenback, Bob Key, Harmon Showers, American Winner, Grades Singing, Magician, Romalie Hanover and Town Pro will be inducted as Harness Racing Immortals.