Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
The Harness
Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is dedicated
to comprehensive, active and authoritative support and
promotion of the Standardbred industry through documentation
and preservation of the history and traditions of this
American-born sport. The museum's historic collection
includes more than 1,500 works of fine art; 1,000 pieces
of ephemera (tickets, programs, scrapbooks, etc.); 5,000
photographs; 300 jackets, caps and helmets; 50 sulkies
and harness; and 200 trophies. Items not on display
are kept in safe, climate-controlled storage areas to
protect them from deterioration.
The Harness Racing Museum pays tribute
to trotters and pacers - and the men and women who have
bred, trained, and raced them. Located in Goshen, not
far from the birthplace of the legendary Hambletonian,
the ancestor of 99 percent of all horses engaged in
harness racing today.
Part of the museum is housed in the
old Good Time Stables, erected in 1913 and displays
a timeline of the sport. Throughout the exhibitons are
artifacts relating to the greatest steeds of the sport,
including Hambletonian, Dan Patch, and Goldsmith's Maid.
In addition there are paintings of famed horses and
a gallery of harness racing lithographs by Currier &
Ives; exhibits on the breeding and training of the steeds;
the first mobile starting gate; elaborately engraved
trophies (including ones by Fabergé and Tiffany);
and a 3D simulated ride that lets visitors experience
the thrill of racing.
One room in the museum overlooks Goshen's
Historic Track, established in 1838 and the oldest working
racetrack in the country.
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily except Christmas, Thanksgiving,
and New Years Day.
Admission: Adults: $7.50, USTA Members/Seniors/AAA: $5.50, Students:
$3.50, Children under 5: Free, Tour Group Rates: 10+
$4.00/person |
