The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), in conjunction with the U.S. Harness Racing Hall Of Fame, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 27 the election of racing executive Tom Aldrich, bloodstock expert Bob Boni and trainer Chris Ryder to the greatest honour in the industry, membership to the U.S. Hall Of Fame.
USHWA has also elected racing official/administrator Judy Davis-Wilson and writer/editor Debbie Little to the pinnacles of their professions, membership in the Communicators Hall Of Fame.
U.S. Hall of Famers (left to right): Tom Aldrich, Bob Boni, Judy Davis-Wilson, Debbie Little and Chris Ryder
Tom Aldrich is best-known in harness racing as a dynamic manager at Cleveland’s Northfield Park, where he joined forces with owner Carl Milstein and other key personnel to bring about a renaissance at the northeast Ohio half-miler. High-level races were created, attracting high-level horses; competitive race cards appealed to players and made Northfield one of the most attractive wagering opportunities in harness racing; and Aldrich was a constant, visible presence throughout the racetrack, from the clubhouse to the backstretch, walkie-talkie in hand, seeing that the needs of all facets of the Northfield operation were operating at peak efficiency. Aldrich retired from active management in 2013, but still fills in as an associate judge; long before he had even considered retirement, he had been named to the Ohio Harness Racing Hall Of Fame in 1999.
Aldrich was prepared for this management opportunity, starting by going to Lebanon Raceway with his father Clyde, and, after graduating from Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati’s College Of Law, becoming general manager of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association. He gained invaluable insight working as executive assistant to double Hall Of Famer Stan Bergstein at Harness Tracks Of America. From there, he became general manager of Rosecroft Raceway just outside Washington DC, where he met his late wife Lynn Fortna, a winner of more than 200 races as a driver as part of her family horse background, later an executive, and always an excellent counterpoint and sounding board for Tom.
Bob Boni’s parents took him to Yonkers as a youth, and upon his graduation from high school, he embarked on a harness racing career that has taken him through increasingly responsible stints with Pine Hollow Stud, International Standardbred the Wall Street Stable with principal Lou Guida, Dreamaire Stud and his present operation of his Northwest Bloodstock Company, which combines bloodstock agency, sales consultancy and breeding expertise. Along the way, Boni pioneered the usage of video as a marketing tool for selling top racehorses, dating back to 1978 and the Liberty Bell Sale.
Among the many great horses with whom Boni has been associated are U.S. Horse of the Year Nihilator (who would be syndicated for a record price after his outstanding career), world champion Always B Miki, Pershing Square and Caressable; he has been a part of six Breeders Crown championships. For Dreamaire, Boni assembled a broodmare band that contained 20 mares with 1:55 records, at a time when no one else owned two such mares.
Boni’s impact has been greatly felt in the upper echelons of harness racing’s premier guiding associations. Boni is a trustee of the Harness Racing Museum, has written several timely and pertinent articles on major issues of the day, and is Chairman of USHWA’s Breeder, Sire, and Broodmare Awards Committee. In his capacity of vice-president for the SBOA of New Jersey, Boni played a primary role in securing appropriation funding that helped revitalize racing and breeding in the Garden State.
A member of a New Zealand horse racing family, Chris Ryder first came to North America because his wife Nicola is a CPA and was transferred to her firm’s office in Manhattan. Ryder worked as a beautician professionally before going with the horses before his family came to America, and his early success “over here” in harness racing came with Messenger winner Go For Grins and Governor’s Cup winner Sealed N Delivered.
His reputation continued to grow through the years with horses such as Cathedra Dot Com, Put On A Show, I Luv The Nitelife, Bettors Wish (a double Dan Patch award winner) and Party Girl Hill, whose success led owner Tom Hill to give Ryder the talented female Niki Hill to train. Last year, Gem Quality brought Ryder his sixth Breeders Crown victory (he has had seven Dan Patch divisional award winners). This year, Twin B Joe Fresh is literally the No. 1 horse in the stable – after outstanding success at two and three, the four-year-old mare is atop the Top 10 poll as this is written.
Ryder had trained the winners of more than $53 million USD before the season started; in 2022 his stable earned more than $3.7 million USD for his best year, and averaged over $10,000 USD a start. This year, he is in the North American top 25 in earnings with the third-smallest number of starters in the group (Pelling and Melander have had fewer). His son Patrick is coming into his own as a driver, having already exceeded his personal seasonal highs for driving victories and money won.
Aldrich, Boni and Ryder will be joined in entrance to the U.S. Hall Of Fame by Mal Burroughs, who was enshrined in the Hall through the special Veterans designation in July.
Judy Davis-Wilson (her given first name is "Zoe") was born into one of the biggest and most successful harness racing families in the state of Delaware, but she switched her focus to the frontside by age 15 at the late Georgetown Raceway. Her work as program director, primarily at Brandywine, when the United States Trotting Association (USTA) was implementing its program computerization system, was invaluable, and served her well at The Hambletonian Society when she worked many years as that organization's Stakes Manager.
Her home state of Delaware, one of the first to supplement purses with revenue from racino slots, was a natural place for Davis-Wilson to go when the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund was reinvigorated early in the 2000s; she still can handle most any phase of the complex workings of a breeders and stakes program, and is frequently called upon to do so.
Davis-Wilson has been a Director of USHWA for 22 years and she is one of the very few people who have held five different Officer positions -- the usual “chain of command,” including President, is four, but she also served as the Association's treasurer for four years. In addition to being USHWA's Member of the Year in 2013, Davis-Wilson received a President's Award from the USTA in 2006. One job for which she does not get enough credit is the thankless task of ticket sales and seating for the Dan Patch Banquet.
Debbie Little, like all of the Hall electees, earned her way up the harness racing ladder, working at New York City area tracks, at a trade organization, and as a writer. During this early period in the sport, she met her future husband Dave; the two were married in the winner's circle at Yonkers and now the pair becomes the first wife and husband team in the Communicators Hall.
Her “big break” came when she was hired as handicapper and writer covering harness racing at the New York Post, where she worked for going on 27 years, also covering “the runners” (she famously picked $102.60 Giacomo to win the Kentucky Derby). She won a Hervey Award for one of the many freelance stories, for many publications, she has contributed to the sport, and has done television work with husband Dave. Currently, Little works as associate editor for Harness Racing Update.
Like Davis-Wilson, Little served a term as USHWA President, and is president of the New York City chapter. She was USHWAn of the Year in 2022, and has been a Director of the organization for 25 years. Little is responsible for the script of the annual Dan Patch Awards banquet, co-chairs the Hirt Journalism Workshop committee and this year will have the unique task of arranging for her own artwork and biography for the CHOF portrait prepared for each new member of the Communicators Hall.
Aldrich, Boni, Ryder, Davis-Wilson and Little will be honoured in two upcoming ceremonies. They will receive their first formal recognition at the U. S. Harness Writers Association’s Dan Patch Awards Banquet, to be held at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. The second event will, of course, be their formal introductions to their Halls at Goshen on the first Sunday of July 2025. More information on these events will be available on USHWA’s website (usharnesswriters.com) in the upcoming months.
(USHWA)