In 1951, when Goshen was still the home of the Hambletonian stake, a group of seven visionary horsemen transformed that stable, formerly William H. Cane’s Good Time Stable, into what would become the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. Stalls were transformed into exhibition areas, hay chutes

served as display cases, and harness racing history found its home adjacent to Historic Track. Several additions to the original stable and a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 1998 have made the museum and Hall of Fame a destination for tourists and harness fans from around the world.

The museum’s displays trace the entire history of the Standardbred sport from the breed’s beginning with the revolutionary sire Hambletonian, through the rise of such legends as Pop Geers, Dan Patch, Delvin Miller and

Billy Haughton, to the momentous career of Moni Maker and today’s racing stars. The vibrant and interactive exhibitry includes three movie theaters, computer databases, a mechanical talking horse, the opportunity to announce

a race, and the world’s only 3-D harness racing simulator, which allows visitors to experience the thrill of driving in a harness race.

The museum also houses the Peter D. Haughton Memorial Library, its books, magazines and videos available for research, and an education department which introduces hundreds of schoolchildren, scouts, and 4-Hers to harness racing each year.

In addition to preserving the sport’s history, the museum’s Hall of Fame honors the people and horses who have contributed significantly to the sport. Hall of Fame inductees are elected by members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association and were first installed in 1961. A life-like statuette of each inductee is displayed in the Living Hall of Fame.

Since 1995 outstanding horses have been inducted into a special Living Horse Hall of Fame voted on by the museum’s members—and anyone can be a member.

Museum members may also nominate men, women, and horses who have died as Immortals of the Hall of Fame. A committee reviews the nominees each year and the final inductees are elected by the museum’s board of trustees.

Also, when a Hall of Famer dies, the statuette of that person is

transferred to the Hall of the Immortals.

The Writers’ Corner of the Hall of Fame was created in 1984 to honor USHWA members who have used their talent to report and document the sport of harness racing. Inductees are elected by their peers, fellow USHWA members,and honored by a caricature that hangs in the Writers’ Corner of the museum.