The first four drivers to accept an invitation to compete in the Mr. and Mrs. Elbridge Gerry Memorial Trot on Sunday, July 5, at Goshen Historic Track in New York
have sent in their RSVPs.
The race, open by invitation to Hall of Fame horsemen, has eight available spots and the first four have been filled by John Campbell, Jim Doherty, Wally Hennessey and Ron Pierce. Drivers will be on hand to greet fans and autograph photos after the race. Post time is 1 p.m.
Goshen is home to the 28th annual Great American Weekend celebration - two days of activities that celebrate the nation's independence. Activities for the whole family are centered in and around the town's tree-ringed, nine-acre green, surrounded by stone office buildings, churches, and Queen Anne-style homes.
Historic Track is a harness racing facility that opened in 1838 and is the country's oldest active horse racing track. There's been trotting horse racing on the streets of Goshen since the Revolutionary War era. True to history, there is no betting and stables are open to the public. The track, at 44 Park Place, is on the National Park Service's registry of historic landmarks.
There will be racing for prizes as big as $20,000 at the track July 1st through 5th at 1 p.m. as part of Goshen's Fourth of July celebration. Admission is free for children, adults are $5 and admission price includes a racing program. The stable area is open to visitors, to see the racehorses up close as they prepare for competition.
Adjacent to the racetrack is the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, at 240 Main Street. Housed in a Tudor carriage house, the museum interprets the history of harness racing throughout the world and is home to several priceless collections. Among them are sterling silver Faberge items created for Czar Nicholas of Russia and given to New Yorker C.K.G. Billings when he raced his fine trotters in Russia. Also at the museum is what is believed to be the largest single collection of Currier & Ives equine prints.
The museum's most popular exhibit is the racing simulator theater, where guests get a 3-D presentation of racing as if they're driving in a race, feeling the wind in their hair and jiggling along with every step of the speeding horse. Admission to the museum is free. Annual induction ceremonies for the Hall of Fame will be held the evening of July 5; admission is charged to that event.
For information on The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, call 845-294-6330 or visit www.harnessmuseum.com. For information on Great American Weekend activities, call the Goshen Chamber of Commerce, 845-294-7741 or visit www.goshennychamber.com.