Harness: Sport loses Hall of Famer William Weaver III

Harness Racing Hall of Famer William B. Weaver III, 79, died Feb. 10, 2016.

Mr. Weaver enjoyed enormous success as a breeder despite breeding a small number of horses each year. He bred influential trotting sire Valley Victory as well as several division champions.

Valley Victory was the sport’s top 2-year-old colt trotter in 1988 and won 11 of 14 lifetime races before being retired at age 3 because of illness. His offspring include Hambletonian winning colts Victory Dream and Muscles Yankee as well as filly Continentalvictory. Victory Dream and Muscles Yankee also produced Hambletonian winners, with Muscles Yankee sons Deweycheatumnhowe, Muscle Hill and Muscle Massive winning the sport’s top trotting race in consecutive years (2008-10).

Other notable horses bred by Mr. Weaver include U.S. and/or Canadian division champions Chocolatier, Laddie, To Dream On, Was It A Dream and Wheeling N Dealin plus millionaire trotting mare Elusive Desire.

Mr. Weaver was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

(Courtesy USTA Communications)