Hall Of Fame Nominees Announced

[Wandering Eyes]

Five contemporary horses, three trainers and one jockey are the nine finalists on the ballot for induction as part of the class of 2019 for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, it was announced Thursday.

Four females are included among the five equine finalists, including the late three-time champion Royal Delta (Empire Maker) in her first year of eligibility, Horse of the Year Havre de Grace (Saint Liam), Classic-winning champion Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy), champion Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision) and the versatile Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat), also a three-time Eclipse Award winner.

Mark Casse, Christophe Clement and David Whiteley are the trio of trainers eligible for induction, while Craig Perret is the lone jockey on the ballot.

Hall of Fame voters may select as many candidates as they believe are worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame. All candidates that receive majority approval (50.1% or higher) of the voting panel will be elected to the Hall of Fame. The former rule capping the number of inductees at four was eliminated by the Museum’s Executive Committee in 2018. All the finalists were required to receive support from two-thirds of the Nominating Committee to qualify for the ballot.

Hall of Fame ballots will be mailed to the voting panel Mar. 1. The results of the voting on the contemporary candidates will be announced Apr. 22. That announcement will also include this year’s selections by the Museum’s Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf committees. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Friday, Aug. 2 at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be open to the public and is free to attend.

The finalists were selected by the Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee from a total of 93 initial candidates suggested by turf journalists, thoroughbred industry participants and racing fans. To be eligible, trainers must be licensed for 25 years, while jockeys must be licensed for 20 years. Thoroughbreds are required to be retired for five calendar years before becoming eligible. All candidates must have been active within the past 25 years. The 20- and 25-year requirements for jockeys and trainers, respectively, may be waived, at the discretion of the Museum’s Executive Committee. Candidates not active within the past 25 years are eligible through the Historic Review process.

This story will be updated.

 

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