'Judge' Walter Russell, who set new standards of excellence for harness racing officials during his time in the stand, and Jim Simpson, who posted a successful career as a trainer/driver, and is now posting an even better one as head of Hanover Shoe Farms, have been elected to
membership in the sport’s Living Hall of Fame by the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA).
Gary Seibel, the sport’s premier television racing analyst for more than a decade, and the late Joe Hartmann, longtime top-notch publicist and writer, have been elected to membership in the Communicators Hall of Fame by their USHWA peers.
Russell, son of Hall of Fame horseman Sanders Russell, took a different path from his father, but still is meeting him at the Hall. Walter started off as a groom, as most sons of horsemen do, and enjoyed that life, but it was soon apparent – perhaps after earning a PhD in Humanities from Emory University – that the erudite, well-spoken Russell might try life away from the backstretch.
As shown by the nickname 'Judge,' Walter Russell contributed tremendously to harness racing by applying intense scrutiny, respect, and even-handed distribution of justice wherever he might work as an official, especially as a judge. His favourite place to work – indeed, perhaps his favourite place of all, without distinction – was the Red Mile in Lexington, where his vast knowledge of the sport and its horsemen and people could be put to best usage for both himself and his enthralled guests. But the stern but fair demeanor returned during the racing, setting the standard for several generations of judges.
Jim Simpson is also a son of a Hall of Famer – John Simpson, Sr., an outstanding horseman who then made monumental contributions to Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania, the leading breeding establishment for harness horses in the world. Like his father, Jim Simpson began his occupational engagement with harness racing in a jog cart and sulky, handling champions such as international star Sugarcane Hanover and Noxie Hanover, whose speed record for two-year-old trotting fillies stood for the better part of 20 years.
Simpson then switched from the sulky to the board room: in 1992 he became vice president of Hanover, which has been the No. 1 breeder in North America since records began to be kept, and five years later he assumed the top job of president and CEO. A progressive and inclusive thinker, Simpson’s brilliance is reflected in any number of ways: from his keeping of Hanover’s breeding stock, both male and female, fresh and marketable – and by “pensioning” breeding stock on the farm after their breeding days are done; to his service on the Board of the Hambletonian Society, which helped lead to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Racino getting to host last weekend the defining year-end series, the Breeders Crown championships; to his work helping to shape the pioneer legislation, and its subsequent implementation, channeling funds from slot machine play to Pennsylvania harness racing.
A native of New York City, Seibel found his first firm foothold in the sport some 1,500 miles away, at Pompano Park in South Florida. Seibel was track announcer there for 18 years, served as the park’s assistant general manager for two years, and also had stints as a publicist, handicapper, and in-house TV host.
The last-named skill points out the dominant theme of Seibel’s 'side jobs' during that period, as television commentator for the Breeders Crown and additional broadcasts on sports giant ESPN and other channels. And it also gave Seibel a firm base for his current harness duties, as a sulky authority for the Television Games Network of horse racing coverage, and as host of the hour-long broadcast of the Hambletonian, the sport’s most prestigious race, now seen on NBC. Seibel’s years of experience in harness racing help him come across as informative and erudite to his watchers, many of whom are either new to harness racing, or only have a brief acquaintance with the sport.
Seibel is a member of USHWA, and has served several times on the organization’s Board of Directors.
Hartmann passed away in March of this year, shortly after learning of his well-deserved nomination to the Communicators Hall. Unlike Seibel, he did not have to go far to get his harness feet wet – the native of Port Jervis, NY started out covering nearby Monticello Raceway for several of the major newspapers of his area. He then crossed over to track management, first as a publicist at Foxboro – that track’s Boston-area location would loom large in Hartmann’s later career – then at Pocono Downs, and most notably at Pompano Park, where as a colleague of Seibel he did outstanding work, especially during the many races staged there by the prestigious Breeders Crown series.
Hartmann returned to Foxboro in the mid-1990s as assistant general manager and did pioneering work in simulcasting, then moved to the new, nearby Plainridge Racecourse, where he worked with track founder Gary Piontkowski to establish the fledgling oval (he would have been very proud of his addition to the track’s Wall of Fame in September). All the while, Hartmann’s byline appeared frequently in the major trade press. Hartmann is a past president of USHWA, and he won the publicists’ Allen J. Finkelson Golden Pen Award, named after the dean of publicists, a man with whom Hartmann collaborated successfully during their overlapping time at Pompano.
The Living Hall of Fame voting and concurrent Communicators Hall of Fame voting is conducted every year by the Writers Association. The Delaware firm of Davis-Smith Accounting Associates collects, tabulates, and certifies the Hall of Fame voting.
Russell, Simpson, Seibel and Hartmann will be celebrated for their outstanding work in harness racing on two occasions in 2011: on February 27, at USHWA’s annual awards dinner, to be held this year at the Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.; and on July 3, the date of the annual induction dinner at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY.
(USHWA)