On Sunday, August 6, pieces of history were exchanged during Berlin Trotting Derby Day at Germany’s century-old Berlin-Mariendorf raceway. A whip exchange between Canada, Germany and the USA served as gestures of international cooperation between the three nations.

A shot of the scene at Berlin-Mariendorf raceway on Berlin Trotting Derby Day (Photo courtesy Bill Galvin)

Bill Galvin travelled to Germany to take part in a trackside ceremony. He presented a Hans Fromming whip and signed biography to the German Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Fromming had given the biography and silver-toned whip to Galvin in 1975. The gifts had been in appreciation of Galvin having arranged for Fromming to compete in a racing series with Herve Filion at Greenwood Raceway in Toronto.

Fromming was the most popular driver in Germany in 1975, as his 5,592 wins made him the leading dash-winning driver in the world at the time. He was also well known in America for having driven Delmonica Hanover to a victory in the 1974 Prix d’Amerique.

In the same ceremony, legendary German horseman Heinz Wewering, a member of the German Hall of Fame of the Trotting Sport since its foundation, presented Galvin with two of his signed whips. The black whip that Wewering gave Galvin was the whip he recently carried when he won the German Filly Derby with Motion Pure. One of the whips is being sent to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, and the other will head to Goshen’s Hall of Fame and Museum in New York.

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Director Linda Rainey has said that she is thrilled with the whip exchange.

“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of horse racing in Canada, we are honoured to be part of this symbolic exchange of memorabilia,” Rainey said. “It represents the international bond that exists within the sport of harness racing, and the importance of sharing the history of our great sport.”

Race fans at Berlin-Mariendorf raceway watch the action from under umbrellas on Berlin Trotting Derby Day (Photo courtesy Bill Galvin)