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| Sumita Pawar |
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Nine new members have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 includes three jockeys, three horses, and three Pillars of the Turf. The contemporary category inductees are jockey Joel Rosario and horses Gun Runner and Justify. The Pre-1900 Historic Review Committee has selected jockey Abe Hawkins and horses Aristides and Lecomte, while Harry F. Guggenheim, Clement L. Hirsch, and Joe Hirsch were chosen by the Pillars of the Turf Committee.
Joel Rosario, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is one of the three inductees in the contemporary category. He ranks fourth all-time in North American purse earnings with US$318,313,804. Rosario won the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Orb, the Belmont Stakes with Tonalist in 2014, and Sir Winston in 2019. He has won 15 Breeders’ Cup races, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic with champion Accelerate (2018) and Horse of the Year Knicks Go (2021). Rosario has won 413 graded stakes, including 115 Group Ones.
Gun Runner, a chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by Besilu Stables, won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion older male in 2017. Racing from 2015 through 2018, Gun Runner compiled a record of 12-3-2 from 19 starts and earnings of US$15,988,500, the second-highest total of any North American-based horse. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner won the Breeders' Cup Classic, Woodward Stakes, Whitney Stakes, and Stephen Foster in 2017. He also won the Razorback Handicap that year and made one start in 2018 prior to being retired to stud at Three Chimneys Farm, winning the Pegasus World Cup by 2 1/2 lengths.
Justify, a chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by John Gunther, became the 13th American Triple Crown winner and was voted the Eclipse Award winner for Horse of the Year and champion 3YO male in 2018. He crossed the finish line first in all six of his career starts. Justify's record of six wins from six starts is subject to change pending an ongoing appeals process related to his disqualification in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, which was court-ordered after testing detected scopolamine in Justify's system following his win.
Abe Hawkins earned nicknames including "The Black Prince," "The Dark Sage of Louisiana," and "The Slayer of Lexington" for his prowess as a jockey in the pre- and post-Civil War years. Arguably the most celebrated rider in America prior to Isaac Murphy and the first Black athlete to gain national prominence, Hawkins is remembered foremost for his victory aboard Lecomte vs. Lexington at the Metairie Course in New Orleans on 1st April, 1854. That day, Hawkins piloted Lecomte to a record 7:26 for the distance of four miles to hand Lexington the lone defeat in his Hall of Fame career.
Aristides, a chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by his owner, H. P. McGrath, won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875. Trained by Hall of Famer Ansel Williamson, Aristides came back in the Derby before a crowd of 10,000 to defeat Volcano by a length, with Ten Broeck fifth. His time of 2:37 3/4 was the fastest ever to that date by a 3YO for 1 1/2 miles. Following the Derby, Aristides won the Withers Stakes at Jerome Park, finished second in the Belmont to Calvin, and was third in the Travers.
Lecomte, a chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by Gen. Thomas Jefferson Wells, made his debut at the Metairie Course in New Orleans on 5th April, 1853, in a 2YO sweepstakes at mile heats. Lecomte won both mile heats, including a time of 1:45 1/2 in the second heat, the fastest ever in America at the time. Lecomte did not race again until November.
He returned to win at two-mile heats at the Pharsalia Course in Mississippi before winning three races in three weeks back at Metairie to remain undefeated through five starts. His victory on 6th Jan, 1854, was in mile heats against Sallie Ward, considered one of the best mares in the South prior to the Civil War. Lecomte was finally defeated when he met up with Hall of Famer Lexington in the Great State Post Stakes in consecutive four-mile heats.
Harry F. Guggenheim, in addition to his considerable impact on horse racing, was a leading figure in the fields of publishing, mining, government service, aeronautics, and philanthropy. Born in New Jersey in 1890, Guggenheim developed a passion for racing after graduating from Cambridge University. He became a significant figure in the sport as an owner, breeder, and industry leader. Under the name Cain Hoy Stable, Guggenheim won 540 races as an owner with purse earnings of US$6.2 million. He also bred the winners of 1,230 races (those horses earned US$8.7 million). Cain Hoy campaigned 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star, champion Bald Eagle, and Hall of Fame member Ack Ack.
Clement L. Hirsch was born in 1914 in St. Louis into a successful family of retail merchants. After serving in the Marine Corps in World War II and being involved in the invasion of Guadalcanal, Hirsch purchased his first racehorse in 1947. During more than 50 years as an owner, Hirsch employed only two trainers. He first hired Robert H. "Red" McDaniel, then Warren Stute, who remained with him for more than 40 years. A member of The Jockey Club, Hirsch was successful with a number of horses imported from South America.
He was also successful with the filly Magical Maiden, who won the 1991 Hollywood Starlet and the 1992 Las Virgenes Stakes. In 1993, Magical Maiden won the Chula Vista Handicap at Del Mar, a race that track officials later renamed the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined on 2nd Aug at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Museum website. The event is open to the public and free to attend.