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2006 - Ron Waples,
a two-time Little Brown Jug® winner, has been elected as the 22nd Little Brown
Jug® Wall of Fame honoree. 2005 - Mrs. LaVerne A. Hill, vice-president of Scioto Downs and widow of the late Charles Hill, founder and former chairman of the board at Scioto Downs, became the 21st Little Brown Jug Wall of Fame inductee. "I can not think of a more fitting person to receive this year's award. LaVerne has done so much for harness racing at Delaware," said Mayor's Breakfast Chairman H.C. "Chip" Thomson. Mrs. Hill has won the Harness Tracks of America's prestigious Messenger Award and the U.S. Harness Writers' President's Award. She is also a director of the Little Brown Jug® Society and Harness Tracks of America. Mrs. Hill also donated the funds to build the new Jugette® Barn at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. 2004 - Howard Beissinger, a native Ohioan and one of the top trainers of trotters, was selected at the 20th Wall of Fame inductee. The Hamilton, Ohio native if a 1974 member of Harness Racing's Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY and became a member of the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1977. Beissinger's list of horses is a "who's who" of the trotting sport including 1969 Triple Crown winner Lindy's Pride; the 1971 Hambletonian winner Speedy Crown; and 1978 Hambletonian winner Speedy Somolli. He also recorded 11 stakes victories at Delaware including 1982 Little Brown Jug® elimination heat winner Temujin. 2003 - William O'Donnell, driver of back to back Little Brown Jug® champions -- Nihilator (1985) and Barberry Spur (1986), has been selected as the 19th Little Brown Jug® Wall of Fame inductee. The Springhill, Nova Scotia native is a 1986 member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and was enshrined into Harness Racing's Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY in 1990. During his 33 year career, O'Donnell has amassed over 5,500 career victories and his horses have earned over $95.7 million in purses, third on the all-time list behind fellow "Wall of Famers," John Campbell and Mike Lachance. O'Donnell was the Harness Tracks of America "Driver of the Year" in 1982 and 1984. O'Donnell was the regular pilot for three Horses of the Year, Fancy Crown (1984), Nihilator (1985) and Staying Together (1993). The "Magic Man" also captured 13 Breeder's Crown titles and the 1985 Hambletonian Final with Prakas. 2002 - Thomas Walsh, Jr., A standardbred owner for more than 40-years, the Woodbury, New York native co-owned two Little Brown Jug® champions Magical Mike (1994) and Armbro Operative (1996). Walsh and his Shadow Lane Farm have also campaigned such stars as Conway Hall, Bold Dreamer, Victory My Way, McClusky and Miles McCool. Walsh has been a generous patron of several industry efforts and was presented with the United States Harness Writers' Association William Haughton Good Guy Award in 1998. Walsh's generosity helped establish the Magical Mike Invitational Pace at the Delaware County Fair and is largely responsible for the building of the Little Brown Jug® Barn that houses the Jug starters. Walsh is also the owner of Colonial Wire and Cable, a manufacturer of electrical wiring products, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Standardbred Retirement Fund, the Harness Racing Museum and TIMES: In Harness, an industry trade publication. 2001 - Michel Lachance, Hall of Fame driver and a four time winner of the Little Brown Jug®. Lachance has won nearly 9,000 races and his drives have collected over $129 million in purse earnings over a 34 year career. Lachance has won nearly every major stakes race in North America, including three Hambletonian finals and 21 Breeders' Crown events. The St. Augustin, Quebec native realized a lifelong dream by winning back-to-back Little Brown Jugs in 1988 and 1989 with B J Scoot and Goalie Jeff. He also captured Jug glory with magical Mike (1994) and Western Dreamer (1997). Lachance has visited the Delaware County Fairgrounds winner's circle a record thirteen times in 42 jug starts. In 1995 Lachance received the sport's ultimate honor, when he was elected into the Living Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York. 2000 - Roger Huston, longtime track announcer of the Little Brown Jug® and Delaware County Fair®, has brought countless race fans to their feet with his booming voice, flashy attire and exciting stretch calls. The Xenia, Ohio native has announced more than 126,000 races on three continents and in September will call his 34th Little Brown Jug®. He has also been enshrined in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and received the Golden Pen award from the Harness Publicists Association. 1999 - H. Charles Armstrong, is the Honorary Chairman of the famed breeding farm, Armstrong Brothers. The "Armbro" prefix has visited Delaware's winners circle many times, including Jug champs Armbro Operative ('98) and Armbro Omaha ('74) and Jugette "queens" Armbro Romance ('98) and Armbro Feather ('87). 1998 - George Segal. There is nothing that George Segal likes to do better than breed and race Standardbreds. For nearly a quarter of a century he has immersed himself in the sport he learned to love as a young man growing up in the New York City borough of Queens. George's credits are amazing! He bred and raced 1992 Horse of the Year Artsplace and bred 1996 Hambletonian winner and Horse of the Year Continentalvictory. He also bred and owned 1993 Little Brown Jug® champion Life sign and Jugette® winners Three Diamonds, Leah Almahurst and So Fresh. He also raced 1992 Jug heat winner and runnerup Western Hanover, the sire of 1997 LBJ trophy winner Western Dreamer. 1997 - Charlie Bowen, a third generation Standardbred enthusiast, was the 1997 Little Brown Jug® Society's Wall of Fame honoree. Bowen, who was director of special events for the Delaware County Fair® through 1997, had been associated with the Little Brown Jug® since 1947. ("Hank Thomson put me in charge of the winner's circle ceremonies.") But, Charlie has made his mark as Director of Special Events which translates into raising funds to promote and develop Grand Circuit harness racing at the Delaware County Fair®. During his tenure, Charlie had been largely responsible for raising the necessary funding of the new paddock, log cabin, hospitality pavilion and the latest project, the Little Brown Jug® Horse Barn. 1996 - When a young driver from London, Ontario, showed up at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Track in 1981 to see if he too could sip from the heralded Little Brown Jug®, there was no reason to think he'd be any different. But John Campbell showed that first impressions aren't always accurate. Twenty-five years after driving in his first Little Brown Jug®, Campbell is, without question, the dominant figure of his sport. With more than $138 million in career earnings and more than 7,000 victories - including three Brown Jugs - Campbell is a portrait of confidence and success. The 1995 season saw Campbell capture the North American money-winning title for the 12th time overall, and the ninth time in 10 years. When Campbell's regular ride, David's Pass, had his season cut short by injury, Campbell picked up the reigns of Nick's Fantasy. In the Brown Jug® - their first race together - all Campbell did was bring the 3-year-old gelding home in a race-record time of 1:51.2. That win followed Jug triumphs in 1993 with Life Sign, and 1982 with Merger. Although Campbell has driven many champions in his career, his accomplishments behind a trio of trotters are his most noteworthy. The colts Mack Lobell and Pine Chip, and the filly Peace Corps are among the best of all times. Campbell has come so far so fast - he already is in the Harness Hall of Fame - but he hasn't forgotten harness racing's rich traditions. And nowhere does that mean more than at Delaware. 1995 - He never trained a harness horse or drove a two-minute mile. He doesn't sit in the front row at yearling sales or oversee a million-dollar stud farm. Yet as the Little Brown Jug® celebrates "the fastest 50 years in racing," it looks forward to another 50, thanks in great part to W.D. "Tom" Thomson. Following in the footsteps of his late father Hank - the 1985 honoree - Thomson has pointed the Jug toward the 21st Century, modernizing the pacing classic without it losing its quaint county fair charm and rich tradition. From his position as Director of Racing, a title he's held since 1973, Thomson oversees all that makes the Jug one of the most recognized sporting events in the world. He was instrumental in bringing regional and national television coverage to the Jug, organizing an extensive simulcasting operation, and making continual upgrades to the Delaware racing plant and equipment. At the same time, the Delaware County native has resolutely made sure the race loses none of its history and tradition. When not overseeing the Jug or the family-owned Delaware Gazette newspaper, Thomson serves as an ambassador for the sport as president of the Grand Circuit, a position he has held for four terms. 1994 - For more than 50 years the influence and commitment to the harness racing sport and industry has earned Corwin Nixon deep respect in Ohio and throughout all North America. President of the United States Trotting Association, he has been a leader not only in harness racing but also in politics and public and community service. Over the years, Nixon used his experience as manager of Lebanon Raceway, his many sessions in the Ohio House of Representatives where he served as minority leader, and as an officer of the USTA to effect progressive changes in harness racing. His business connections include the Citizens National Bank in Lebanon and the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. He has owned and driven a number of standardbreds, the most outstanding being Smolder, Lass Hanover, Yankee Belle, and Gail Ann. A director of the Harness Tracks of America, he was inducted into the Ohio Harness Hall of Fame in 1986; the Living Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y. in 1993; and the Ohio State Fair Hall of Fame in 1990. Nixon received the Harness Horsemen International Appreciation Award in 1989 and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree at Ohio University in 1986. 1993 - Former Ohio Governor, James A. Rhodes will always be remembered for - among his many accomplishments in public life and service -the great support he has given to harness racing and the standardbred sport. Rhodes, who served an unprecedented four terms as the state's chief executive, still follows the sport with as much interest as during his days in the Ohio Statehouse. Much of the credit for the Ohio Sires Stakes program, established in 1976, can be directly attributed to Rhodes' efforts. He signed legislation which led to the creation of the program which has won national recognition. Rhodes remains in the forefront in promoting harness racing in Ohio and throughout the nation. An avid follower of the Little Brown Jug®, he has participated in the stake's winner's trophy presentation for more than three decades. 1992 - Gene Riegle carries more than ample credentials to the Jug Wall of Fame. Already a member of the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame, Riegle was recipient of the sport's highest honor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Trotter at Goshen, N.Y. Riegle's career took off in 1952 with the top pacer Red Sails, and it really blossomed in 1958 when he piloted Mr. Saunders to a 2-3 finish in the Hambletonian. In 1993 Life Sign, trained by Riegle, won the Jug. Since that time, Riegle has developed top horses in assembly-line fashion, cranking out some of the sport's best known and most popular performers on an annual basis. 1991 - Stanley F. Bergstein first became associated with Delaware Grand Circuit racing and the Little Brown Jug® when, in the 1960s an emergency brought him to the track as the announcer, a post he held for several years until becoming executive vice-president of the Harness Tracks of America, a position he has held since 1961. Bergstein is the only person ever named to both harness racing's Hall of Fame - its highest honor - and its Writers Hall of Fame. Other awards include 1971 Harness Horseman of the Year, U.S. Harness Writers Proximity Award, and the National Clem McCarthy Good Guy Award. He was the first recipient of the Harness Publicists' Golden Pen Award and the Harness Horse Youth Foundation's Service award. 1990 - John G. Hayes, Sr., became the first Canadian to be selected to the Jug's Wall of Fame. Long one of Canada's premier horsemen, he was most prominent in 1972 when Canadians became active in the standardbred sport. Hayes' claim to fame is his training success. In 1971 he developed Strike Out, a $15,000 purchase. The son of Bret Hanover came on to earn 2-year-old honors as the best colt pacer in North America. In 1972, Strike Out claimed 3-year-old honors of the year after winning the Little Brown Jug® in a record 1:56.3 and The Adios. 1989 - Stanley F. Dancer, from the legendary harness racing family in New Jersey, drove three Jug champions, Henry T Adios (1961), Lehigh Hanover (1962), and Most Happy Fella (1970). Dancer drove in 23 Jug heats with nine victories and finished out of the money only once. His 1:57.1 and 1:57.3 victories behind Most Happy Fella were at that time an all-age world record, three heats divided. Among the long list of super stars campaigned by Dancer, were Cardigan Bay, the sport's first millionaire; Henry T Adios, Triple Crown winner; Most Happy Fella and trotting's Triple Crown champion Super Bowl. 1988 - John F. Simpson, Sr., now manager of the famed Hanover Shoe Farm in Hanover, Pa., was one of the most successful trainer-drivers in the sport of harness racing. Simpson drove three Jug winners and trained and drove two winners of the Hambletonian. During the 1950s and 60s, Simpson supervised one of the largest stables on the Grand Circuit and was annually one of the leading drivers in the country. Victorious in the Jug with Noble Adios in 1956 and Torpid on a stormy day in 1957, Simpson was the first driver ever to win back-to-back Jugs. 1987 - Delvin G. "Del" Miller is another of the all-time greats of harness racing and is often referred to as the Ambassador of the Sport. Miller's illustrious career started in Burgettstown, Pa., in 1929 when he drove his first race as a 16-year-old high schooler. A most talented trainer and driver, Miller was in the bike behind great horses like Dale Frost and Countess Vivian and later Delmonica Hanover, Tarport Hap, and Speed In Action. In 1963 Miller founded The Meadows, still the home of the Adios Pace for 3-year-olds. Miller recently retired as president of the Grand Circuit, a post he held for more than two decades. 1986 - William R. "Billy" Haughton was fatally injured in a driving accident just months before he was to be honored. Haughton has been rated as one of the greatest trainers and drivers in the sport, has a particular spot in Jug annals, as the only driver to take down five Jug champions. And he trained the great Nihilator. A Hall of Famer, Haughton achieved records in harness racing that would require volumes to catalog. Winner of seven Messenger Stakes and four Hambletonians, Haughton's green and white silks accounted for 4,910 race victories and $40.2 million over a 40-year career. His earnings totaled more than $1 million in each of 19 years, a record. 1985 - Henry C. "Hank" Thomson, Delaware newspaper publisher, was one of the co-founders with the late Joseph Neville of the Little Brown Jug® Society which sponsors harness racing's most prestigious 3-year-old colt pace. A member of the Harness Horse Hall of Fame, Thomson was one of the most respected leaders of the sport and industry. A quiet nuts-and-bolts man, Thomson used an even hand to guide the Society in its formative years. He deserved full credit for the outstanding success of Grand Circuit racing each September at Delaware. |
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