HALL OF FAME WELCOMES CLASS OF 2025

GOSHEN, NY -- July 6, 2025 -- A crowd of 270 people gathered Sunday evening at the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame to celebrate the induction of the Hall of Fame class of 2025.

Racing executive Tom Aldrich, bloodstock expert Bob Boni, and trainer Chris Ryder led the group, which was honored during the annual induction dinner on the museum lawn. Inducted posthumously was renowned amateur driver Mal Burroughs, who was elected in July 2024 and passed away 11 weeks later at the age of 83.

Also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday were immortals Lester Hollenback, Bob Key, Harmon Showers, American Winner, Grades Singing, Magician, Romalie Hanover, and Town Pro. Inducted into the Living Horse Hall of Fame were Ariana G, Marion Marauder, Put On A Show, and Shartin N plus broodmares Fireworks Hanover and Steamy Windows.

Inducted into the Communicators Hall of Fame were Judy Davis-Wilson and Debbie Little.

Aldrich is best known for his 28-year stint as general manager, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Northfield Park, working with a team that pioneered a renaissance at the Cleveland-area half-mile oval.

During his tenure, the track created the Battle of Lake Erie, which has remained the centerpiece of its signature night of racing, in addition to hosting several Breeders Crown events and, more recently, the Ohio Sire Stakes championships. He was named to the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1999.

Aldrich thanked his colleagues, “who stuck by a green GM despite his rookie mistakes and demanding nature,” as well as the state of Ohio for “cherishing its harness heritage,” and “especially” the Northfield horsemen, devoted caretakers and backstretch employees.

“In the classic movie ‘Pride of the Yankees,’ Gary Cooper, portraying Lou Gehrig, uttered the Iron Man’s famous line: I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” Aldrich said. “Dramatic license aside, that’s how I feel about my career in harness racing. Lucky. Blessed. Grateful.

“Few people in life get to live out their dream. I did, thanks to all of you here tonight, and stablemates no longer with us who made that possible.”

Boni was drawn into harness racing by attending Roosevelt and Yonkers with his parents as a child. After graduating from high school, he set off to work in the industry and landed a job at Pine Hollow Stud Farm, where he climbed the ladder to become executive vice president. In 1980, he started International Standardbred, which later would become Northwood Bloodstock. He also is known for his work with Lou Guida’s Wall Street Stable and Dreamaire Stud.

Boni has been associated with a number of great horses over the years, including six Breeders Crown champs, two Horse of the Year recipients – Nihilator and Always B Miki – and Pacer of the Year Camtastic. He also established the usage of video as a marketing tool for selling top horses, dating back to the mid-1970s.

“I’ve led a blessed life,” Boni said. “I’ve had great horses, met great people. The horses bring us into this business, I feel, but inevitably it’s the friendships and relationships that we make that carry us on. I’ve made more than I can even begin to count.

“It’s the people that have touched you, that I hope I’ve had some impact with, and friends and people that I’ve worked with, that make this so very, very worthwhile. In closing, I just want to thank you all for your friendship and support and for sharing this special evening with me.”

Ryder, a native of New Zealand who has been racing in the U.S. for decades, has won more than 1,900 races and $58 million in purses during his career. His purse earnings rank 14th since the inception of official trainer stats in 1991.

He has won eight Breeders Crown trophies and conditioned 10 different horses to receive year-end honors in the U.S. and/or Canada, most notably 2024 Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh. From 2019 to 2021, he was second in Horse of the Year voting with three different horses: Bettor’s Wish, Party Girl Hill and Niki Hill.

Other stars include Miki And Minnie, I Luv The Nitelife, Put On A Show, Mystical Sunshine, Cathedra Dot Com, Sealed N Delivered and McArdle.

“Believe me, in all these years of training, it never crossed my mind that just to win a few races would lead me to the Hall of Fame,” Ryder said. “It’s a big honor, of course. I was just focused on getting by day by day and winning a few races.

“Like any of us in this position training racehorses, it takes more than just one guy. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. I’ve had a lot of terrific owners, and I still do. The staff, Peter Trebotica has been my second trainer and done a massive amount in running the barn for me for 20 or more years. Thank you, Peter.”

Ryder also thanked veterinarian Steve Dey, and “most of all, the family that stood behind me,” including son Patrick, who works daily at the stable and also is a driver, and wife Nicola for her behind-the-scenes efforts.

“But the terrific horses that have come my way, they’re really the ones that deserve the accolades,” Ryder said.

Burroughs spent part of his childhood in Rutherford, less than three miles from the land that a couple decades later would become the Meadowlands Sports Complex. As an adult, Burroughs’ construction company helped build a racetrack on the site, with Burroughs participating in the work atop heavy equipment.

This laid the groundwork for Burroughs’ participation in harness racing, and his greatest moments in the sport. Burroughs became an amateur driver in the early 1980s and in the ensuing years won both the Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian – the two most prestigious events for 3-year-old trotters – at the Meadowlands.

He was the first, and still only, driver with amateur status to win the Oaks. He also remains the only amateur to capture both the Oaks (with the filly Gleam in 1994) and the Hambletonian (with the colt Malabar Man in 1997) in history. He finished his driving career in 2005 with 109 victories. He is one of only 14 drivers in history to win both the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks.

“Mal had three expressed desires in his life,” said Bob Heyden, who accepted on Burroughs’ behalf. “One was to build a racetrack that would make a difference. One was to drive a Hambletonian winner one day that was his own. And one was to make it to the Hall of Fame right here. The way I look at it, by all accounts, that’s a cold trifecta. Mal Burroughs, welcome to the Hall of Fame.”

Davis-Wilson was born into one of the biggest and most successful harness racing families in the state of Delaware, but she switched her focus to the frontside by age 15 at the defunct Georgetown Raceway. Her work as a program director, primarily at Brandywine, when the USTA was implementing its program computerization system was invaluable and served her well at the Hambletonian Society, when she worked many years as that organization’s stakes manager.

In 2001, Davis-Wilson returned to her home state to become the administrator of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders’ Fund for the state’s Department of Agriculture. She remained at DSBF until officially retiring in November 2024. In addition, she has been a director of the U.S. Harness Writers Association for 22 years. She is a past president and treasurer of the organization.

“I did not get here alone, and this honor belongs to many great friends and family who helped me along these past 73-plus years,” Davis-Wilson said. “

Little worked at New York City area tracks, at a trade organization, and as a writer. During this early period in the sport, she met her future husband, Dave. The two were married in the winner’s circle at Yonkers, and now Debbie joins Dave as the first married couple in the Communicators Hall of Fame. Dave was inducted in 2019.

Debbie worked as a handicapper and writer covering harness racing at the New York Post for nearly 27 years. In addition, she was a 2021 Hervey Award recipient for feature writing and served as a past president of USHWA as part of an ongoing 25-year stretch as a director of the organization. She remains busy as a writer while also serving as associate editor for Harness Racing Update and co-chair of USHWA’s Clyde Hirt Journalism Workshop.

After thanking the publications and editors she has worked for during her career, as well as friends, family and extended family, Debbie turned to her husband of 35 years and said, “I’ve always thought we had a Hall of Fame marriage. This proves I’m right.”

To watch a replay of the 2025 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, click here.