Prominent breeder and owner Byron D. Kuth was chosen by Ohio harness writers to join the List of Immortals

in the state.

He is best known today as the owner of Merrie Annabelle, the first juvenile trotting filly to win in 2:00. Shortly after that miraculous effort at Lexington, Kentucky, the roan filly was injured and later died from her injuries. One of the most coveted races for young trotting fillies is named in her honour and held each year at the Meadowlands.

Kuth operated the 60-acre Merrie Meadows Farm in Chesterland, Ohio, and owned such top performers as Merrie Duke, Brown Jet, and Right Time. He used such prominent trainers as Howard Beissinger and John Patterson, Sr.

Beissinger remembers Kuth fondly. “He was a good man and a good owner,” Beissinger said. “When he really wanted a yearling, he was hard to outbid at a sale.”

Kuth was a prominent Cleveland attorney and served as president of Painesville Raceway. He was also a trustee of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame, a director of the Lexington Trots Breeders Assn., and served as general counsel for the U.S. Trotting Association.

Kuth will be inducted at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association banquet in Columbus on January 16. For tickets, please contact the OHHA at 800-353-6442.