National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Tickets for the 10th annual National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 2 are now available for purchase. Set to begin at 4:00p.m. and run until 7:30p.m., the Derby-themed fundraiser will feature samplings of local brews and spirits as well as food from local restaurants in Saratoga Springs, New York. While exploring the Museum and its exhibits, guests will enjoy entertainment in the Hall of Fame before a live airing of the running of the Kentucky Derby. Guests are encouraged to dress in...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is partnering with seven regional farms and Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for exclusive behind-the-scenes tours from May through October. The tours will be offered at no cost, courtesy of the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund. The Museum's tour series kicks off Saturday, May 23, at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds. Other farm tours include Song Hill Thoroughbreds (June 13), Greentree Stables (July 25), Mill Creek Farm (Aug. 22), Irish Hill Century Farm (Sept. 19), and Old Tavern Farm (Oct....

The late trainers Christophe Clement and John Shirreffs, as well as GI Belmont Stakes-winning filly Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy) are among 13 finalists who will appear on this year's ballot for inclusion in the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. Clement, who passed away last spring, trained Eclipse champion Gio Ponti, as well as Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist. Shirreffs, who passed away earlier this month, trained four-time champion Zenyatta, as well as GI Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo. The two trainers are joined on the ballot by Ken McPeek,...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Win, Place, Show: The Annual Student Art Exhibition, presented by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, will open to the public in the Museum's von Stade Gallery on Feb. 14. The exhibition, which will feature more than 60 works of art from Capital Region students in grades 3-7, will run through Mar. 15. A second exhibition for grades 8-12 will open on Mar. 28 and runs through Apr. 26. Submissions for the grades 8-12 show will be accepted through...

Following a review of its contemporary Hall of Fame voting panel and a comprehensive evaluation of the overall nominating and election process, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame has made several updates prior to the 2026 election cycle.   A voter survey was conducted in December 2025 to guarantee an electorate that is deeply connected to the sport, knowledgeable, passionate and responsive. That survey resulted in more than two dozen voters who received ballots in last year's election being cycled off prior to the 2026 process. Additionally,...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders are partnering to offer a bus trip from Saratoga Springs to Aqueduct Racetrack for Wood Memorial Stakes Day Apr. 4. This year's edition of the Wood Memorial will be the final time the event is held at Aqueduct before moving to the new Belmont Park in 2027. Tickets are $75 for Museum and NYTB members and $90 for non-members and are on sale now here: https://1049a.blackbaudhosting.com/1049a/Aqueduct-Bus-Trip.

Coinciding with the United States of America's national celebration of the 250 th anniversary of the nation's founding, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will mark the occasion with a special exhibition, Racing at the Dawn of the United States. The presenting sponsor is Adirondack Trust Co. The exhibition will be open through December. The exhibition opens Saturday, Jan. 10 in the Museum's Link Gallery. Racing at the Dawn of the United States explores the foundation of thoroughbred racing in America from the colonial period to the...

When it was announced last week that former New York Post racing columnist Ray Kerrison had been selected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor, New York horseplayers of a certain age had to be smiling. There have been plenty of gifted and talented men and women who have covered the sport over the years, but there's never been anyone like Ray Kerrison. He was fearless, a tremendous reporter, unafraid of whom he might alienate and was a fierce advocate for...

Writers Edward L. Bowen and Ray Kerrison and photographer Charles Christian "C. C." Cook have been selected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor. Edward L. Bowen (1942-2025), who was inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year as a Pillar of the Turf, enjoyed a prolific career as a racing journalist and historian for more than 60 years. An editor-in-chief of The BloodHorse magazine and the author of 22 books on horse racing, Bowen also served 24 years as...

Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality), winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes, leads a class of seven who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Friday morning. The champion 3-year-old of 2004, the lone selection in the contemporary category, joins racehorses Decathlon, Hermis and trainer George H. Conway, who were chosen by the 1900-1959 Historic Review Committee; and Edward L. Bowen, Arthur Hancock, III, and Richard Ten Broeck, who were elected by the Pillars of the Turf Committee. The induction...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - As the final races of the opening day of the Saratoga season are being run July 10, a reception to celebrate a collaboration linking racing and breeding in New York and Ireland will be beginning across the street at the National Museum of Racing. The event sponsored by the New York State Breeding and Development Fund will honor Helena Nolan, the Consul General of Ireland in the U.S. and Suzanne Eade, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland. Nolan and Eade were principals with Brian O'Dwyer, the chairman...

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame has revealed that D. G. Van Clief and Josh Pons have been named to the Hall of Fame committee as chairs of the Contemporary Nominating Committee and the Pillars of the Turf Committee, respectively. With the new Hall of Fame committee chairs in place, Museum leadership is reportedly beginning an evaluation of the overall nomination and election process, including a review of the contemporary Hall of Fame voting panel. The current procedures may be found here. Van Clief, who previously served...