Contributor
Columbus, OH – In an effort to enhance the services provided to the harness racing industry, the U.S. Trotting Association announced Tuesday (Sept. 1) that starting on Oct. 1 free online ACH payments will be available and Discover card has been added as a new payment option. In addition, the USTA will be updating its payment […]
Columbus, OH – Daily Racing Form has reported that Hawthorne Race Course was sold at auction on Tuesday (July 14) to the stalking-horse bid of $90 million from a non-racing developer after no other bids matching or surpassing it were submitted. According to Matt Hagerty in the DRF story, “Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Ill., has been sold to […]
Columbus, OH – The United States Trotting Association (USTA) applauded Thursday’s (June 11) unanimous ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, finding the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) unconstitutional for a third time. The court ruled, “HISA violates the nondelegation doctrine” by unlawfully giving governmental power to a private corporation. […]
Columbus, OH – Jean-Pierre Dubois, an 85-year-old, internationally renowned breeder and owner of both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, drove 3-year-old male trotter Chapel to a win in the fifth race at Oak Grove Racing on Tuesday (April 14). Dubois, who also trains the son of Chapter Seven-Beautiful Game, also finished sixth aboard another trainee, 3-year-old trotting filly Hustle […]
Columbus, OH – Donald “Skip” Hoovler, a longtime Ohio harness racing owner and former director of the United States Trotting Association, whose decades of leadership and advocacy helped shape the sport in the Buckeye State, died Friday afternoon (March 13) following a brief illness. He was 83. Donald “Skip” Hoovler. Mark Hall / USTA Photo. Hoovler, […]
Columbus, OH – Following is a statement from U.S. Trotting Association CEO and Executive Vice President Mike Tanner on the fire at the Woodland Run Equine Veterinarian Facility in Grove City, OH on Friday (Feb. 6). “The USTA sends heartfelt thoughts and sympathies to the veterinarians, staff, and horse owners affected by the devastating fire at […]
Columbus, OH – The United States Trotting Association announced Monday (Dec. 22) that the Standardbred Graded Stakes Committee has approved the addition of eight new graded stakes races for the 2026 racing season, bringing the total number of graded stakes events to 179. The announcement follows the committee’s annual grading meeting, held Nov. 18-19, in Goshen, […]
Columbus, OH – The U.S. Trotting Association announced Monday (Nov. 24) that respected Ohio driver-trainer and longtime Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) Director Roy Burns has been appointed to the USTA Board of Directors. Burns will succeed Skip Hoovler, who is stepping down after decades of distinguished service and exceptional financial stewardship within the Standardbred industry. […]
DOVER, Del. — Matron Stakes winner Dandy Ideal (American Ideal) and Meadowlands Pace winner Madden Oaks (Huntsville) punched their tickets to next week’s Grade 2 Progress Pace, for 3-year-olds, with victories in their respective $35,000 eliminations on Thursday (Nov. 20) at Bally’s Dover. In the first elimination, Dandy Ideal and driver Jason Bartlett held their […]
Dover, DE — Jason Bartlett was the big winner on Thursday (Nov. 13) at Bally’s Dover, taking two of the four Matron Stakes for 3-year-olds contested on the harness racing program. Hambletonian Oaks winner Conversano used a first-over blitz into the far turn to overpower R Dutchess and take the $132,350 Grade 2 Matron for 3-year-old […]
Katrina Purdon has been lucky enough to own some nice horsepower over nearly four decades. And her winning run is not over yet. Katrina grew up in Cambridge and got her first pony when she was four. “It was a big pony so you had to stay on because it was too far to fall […]
Columbus, OH – During the third quarter of 2025, from July 1 through Sept. 30, total wagering was slightly down and purses increased for harness racing in the U.S. The $362,026,274 wagered during July through September was $4,870,186 (1.33%) less than the $366,896,460 bet during that period in 2024. During the third quarter, purses increased by […]
Washington, PA — Miki And Minnie (Always B Miki) and Louprint (Sweet Lou), the top two 3-year-old pacers in harness racing’s Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, delivered victorious performances as the odds-on favorites in their $300,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championships on Saturday (Sept. 6) at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. […]
Four year old gelding Menemsha (Sunshine Beach) starting at near 100/1 shocked his more fancied harness racing rivals when he stormed down the outside to take out the $50,000 Channel 7 August Cup over 2536 metres at Gloucester Park on Friday evening. Million dollar pacers Magnificent Storm and Mighty Ronaldo were expected to fight out […]
Washington, PA — Al Papi became the fastest ever 2-year-old pacing colt on a five-eighths-mile track by virtue of his 1:49.2 win in the first of two $69,182 harness racing divisions of the Tyler B, a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes event for male rookie pacers, held Thursday (Aug. 21) at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. Frantic […]
Washington, PA — After stringing 4-5 harness racing favorite Twisted Destiny out for the first three-eighths of the mile, Prince Hal Hanover (Captaintreacherous) took full advantage of a pocket trip behind a pressured pace and rallied up the open stretch to narrowly capture the $385,000 Grade 1 Adios Pace for the Orchids, held Saturday (July […]
Columbus, OH – On July 15, 2025, the United States Trotting Association entered a ruling finding Eric Cherry in violation of several USTA rules and imposing fines for those violations. Mr. Cherry has since made public statements concerning the factual bases for the USTA’s ruling and the process by which it was reached. In response to […]
Columbus, OH – All economic indicators for harness racing in the U.S. saw decreases during the second quarter of the year from April 1 through June 30, 2025. With 2.97% less race days (817 vs. 842) through the three months of the second quarter, total wagering decreased by more than $41 million and purses by over […]
Columbus, OH – The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certiorari in the challenge brought by the United States Trotting Association (USTA), the States of Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Louisiana, and a group of racetracks, racing associations, and breeders against the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), and has vacated the decision and […]
Columbus, OH – On May 30, 2025, the United States Trotting Association (USTA), following an investigation by the Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund (SRIF), sanctioned John, Pamela, and Kelsey Wagner for fraudulently transferring registered Standardbreds to Kelsey to avoid the consequences of John’s suspension by state racing officials after seven horses he trained tested positive for prohibited […]
Columbus, OH — Following a comprehensive investigation conducted in collaboration with the Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund (SRIF), the United States Trotting Association (USTA) has issued sweeping disciplinary action against members of the Wagner family for orchestrating a fraudulent ownership scheme — commonly known as “bearding” — to circumvent regulatory suspensions and continue profiting from harness racing. […]
Columbus, OH — Forty-eight United States Trotting Association directors met on the afternoon of March 8, 2025, during the USTA’s annual meeting to receive and discuss the report of the board’s ad hoc investigative committee. In the course of a 2-1/2 hour meeting, the board found the violations and imposed the penalties that have since been […]
Columbus, OH – At its annual meeting on Sunday (March 9) in Columbus, Ohio, the US Trotting Association (USTA) Board of Directors voted to hand down sanctions to seven members judged to have violated Association rules and/or bylaws. The Board relied upon the results of a nearly year-long probe conducted by the Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund […]
Columbus, OH — Donna Lee, 72, died Feb. 19, 2025, at the Ephraim McDowell hospital in Danville, Ky., after a courageous battle with health issues over the past few years. To a woman as successful as she, in what through her lifetime was largely a man’s business, fighting adversity was something with which Donna Lee was […]
