Nine new members have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 is comprised of jockey Joel Rosario and horses Gun Runner and Justify in the contemporary category; jockey Abe Hawkins and horses Aristides and Lecomte have been selected by the Pre-1900 Historic Review Committee; and Harry F. Guggenheim, Clement L. Hirsch, and Joe Hirsch were chosen by the Pillars of the Turf Committee. Rosario, Gun Runner, and Justify were all elected in their first year of eligibility.
The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined Aug. 2 at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Museum website at www.racingmuseum.org. The event is open to the public and free to attend.
Joel Rosario, 39, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has won 3,604 races (through April 20) and ranks No. 4 all-time in North American purse earnings with $318,313,804 in a career that began in 2003. The Eclipse Award winner for outstanding jockey in 2021, Rosario won the 2013 Kentucky Derby (G1) with Orb and the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Tonalist (2014) and Sir Winston (2019). He has won 15 Breeders' Cup races, including the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) with champion Accelerate (2018) and Horse of the Year Knicks Go (2021).
Rosario has ranked among the top 10 in North American earnings 15 times, including topping the list in 2021 with a career-best $32,956,215. He has also ranked in the top 10 in wins five times.
"I'm feeling amazing and very grateful," said Rosario. "I was very surprised as young as I am to be in the Hall of Fame. I never thought that I would make it there. This is very, very special.
"I'm very thankful to all the people who have supported me in the past and the people who continue to. I'm absolutely proud and also happy for the people who made this happen for me—(agent) Ron Anderson, the people who started me in the Dominican Republic, and the people when I came here to the United States. I can't thank them enough because if it wasn't for them, I probably would not have made it there."
Rosario has won 413 graded stakes, including 115 grade 1s. He has won nine riding titles on the Southern California circuit at Del Mar, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita Park. In Kentucky, he has won two titles at Keeneland and one at Kentucky Downs. Rosario set records with 38 wins at the 2013 Keeneland spring meeting and 17 wins at Kentucky Downs in 2021. He tied the record with six wins on one card at Hollywood Park in 2009; won the 2013 Dubai World Cup (G1) with Animal Kingdom; and won the 2013 Norfolk Stakes (G2T) at Royal Ascot in course-record time with No Nay Never. He won the Norfolk a second time in 2018 with Shang Shang Shang.
Gun Runner
A chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by Besilu Stables, Gun Runner won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion older male in 2017. Racing from 2015 through 2018, Gun Runner compiled a record of 12-3-2 from 19 starts and earnings of $15,988,500, the second-highest total of any North American-based horse.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner's championship season in 2017 included wins in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Woodward Stakes (G1), Whitney Stakes (G1), and Stephen Foster (G1). He also won the Razorback Handicap (G3) that year. As a 3-year-old in 2016, he won the Clark Handicap (G1), the Louisiana Derby (G2), Risen Star (G2), and the Matt Winn (G3). Gun Runner made one start in 2018 prior to being retired to stud at Three Chimneys Farm, winning the Pegasus World Cup (G1) by 2 1/2 lengths.
David Fiske, racing and bloodstock manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds, said Gun Runner was a "no-brainer" for the Hall of Fame.
"When he crossed the finish line at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup Classic, I turned to Ron (Winchell) and said, 'First ballot unanimous Hall of Famer,' " Fiske said April 23. "If he hadn't gotten in, I would have to cancel my room reservations that I made four months ago. There is no horse that is more Hall of Famey than he is.
"He was always highly regarded even when he was 2. Steve Asmussen always thought he would be a better older horse, and then late in his 3-year-old year, probably once he won the Clark Handicap in the fall, it seemed like the sky was the limit with him and we were looking to a big 4-year-old year from him. He did not disappoint."
Fiske said the qualities that made Gun Runner special were his natural athletic ability, his soundness, and his mind.
"He has a superior mind for a racehorse. Nothing seemed to rattle him; he takes everything in stride and doesn't crack under pressure," Fiske said. "He was incredibly sound—never saw a bucket of ice his entire career. He's just a remarkable animal and he has gone on to remarkable things in the breeding shed."
Gun Runner has continued to impress at Three Chimneys, becoming the leader of his North American stallion class as a freshman sire in 2021 and again as a second-crop and third-crop sire.
"This is the most substantial, most lasting recognition of how tremendous of an athlete he was," said Chris Baker, chief operating officer at Three Chimneys. "To have the Hall of Fame added to his accolades—all these benchmarks he hit that are rare in themselves—it is the final acknowledgment that he is among the greatest of the sport. It is fitting, well deserved, and appreciated."
Justify
A chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by John Gunther, Justify became the 13th American Triple Crown winner and was voted the Eclipse Award winner for Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male in 2018. He crossed the finish line first in all six of his career starts. Justify's record of six wins from six starts is subject to change pending an ongoing appeals process related to his disqualification in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby (G1), which was court-ordered after testing detected scopolamine in Justify's system following his win.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and raced through the Triple Crown by owners China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm, Justify defeated champion Good Magic by 2 1/2 lengths in the Kentucky Derby, beat Bravazo by a half-length in the Preakness, and swept the Triple Crown with a 1 3/4-length win over Gronkowski in the Belmont, his final start.
"It's really quite an honor. It's well deserved," said Jack Wolf, co-founder of Starlight Racing with his wife, Laurie. "I'm glad the voters didn't get preoccupied with the Santa Anita thing.
"I'm very proud of the horse and the connections and the trainer. I got a call from Bob today. He was totally excited—and I don't know how many he's got in the Hall of Fame. He was totally excited about this one. He did a great job of getting the horse to do what he did."
Wolf praised everyone associated with Justify, including Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who rode Justify over much of his short career.
"I've never seen a guy more confident, before and after," he said.
Justify is a successful stallion at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, leading all third-crop sires.
"We are delighted that Justify has been accepted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was an outstanding racehorse—one of the greatest of our time—and is now quickly becoming a very important stallion on an international level," said Charlie O'Connor, director of sales at Ashford. "Through the support of the Magnier family, their partners, and the best breeders all over the world, he has assembled another stellar book of mares this year. We're excited about what looks to be a very bright future for him."
WinStar president, CEO, and racing manager Elliott Walden said Justify never had a bad day at the track.
"He was just phenomenal from the time he stepped on the racetrack to the time we had him being broken here at the farm to everything he ever did. .... Every time he breezed, every time he galloped, he was just so consistent. Great motion, great athleticism for such a big horse and you just don't see that very often."
Abe Hawkins
Hawkins earned nicknames including "The Black Prince," "The Dark Sage of Louisiana," and "The Slayer of Lexington" for his prowess as a jockey in the pre- and post-Civil War years. Arguably the most celebrated rider in America prior to Isaac Murphy and the first Black athlete to gain national prominence, Hawkins is remembered foremost for his victory aboard Lecomte vs. Lexington at the Metairie Course in New Orleans on April 1, 1854. That day, Hawkins piloted Lecomte to a record 7:26 for the distance of four miles to hand Lexington the lone defeat in his Hall of Fame career.
An enslaved person on Duncan Kenner's Ashland plantation in Louisiana, Hawkins won a documented 25 races from 1864 through 1866 and countless informal and undocumented events during the course of his career. Hawkins first appeared as a rider at Metairie in 1851 and rode for Kenner for a decade beginning in 1854. After the Civil War, as a free man, Hawkins went north and achieved celebrity and fortune, particularly at Saratoga Race Course, Jerome Park, and the course at Paterson, N.J.
Aristides
Bred in Kentucky by his owner, H. P. McGrath, Aristides, a chestnut colt foaled in 1872, won the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875. Trained by Hall of Famer Ansel Williamson, Aristides, a week before the Derby, finished out of the money in the Phoenix Hotel Stakes. He came back in the Derby before a crowd of 10,000 to defeat Volcano by a length, with Ten Broeck fifth. His time of 2:37 3/4 was the fastest ever to that date by a 3-year-old for 1 1/2 miles.
Following the Derby, Aristides won the Withers Stakes at Jerome Park, finished second in the Belmont to Calvin, and was third in the Travers. Aristides' second-place finish in the Belmont was attributed in the press to his having been "pulled" to allow stablemate Calvin to win. Calvin's victory was said to have landed $30,000 in bets for McGrath. Aristides went on to win the two-mile Jerome Stakes that fall and closed his season with a win in the two-mile Breckinridge Stakes. Aristides is retrospectively acknowledged as the champion 3-year-old male of 1875.
Lecomte
Bred in Kentucky by Gen. Thomas Jefferson Wells, Lecomte, a chestnut colt foaled in 1850, made his debut at the Metairie Course in New Orleans on April 5, 1853, in a 2-year-old sweepstakes at mile heats. Although he was a foal of 1850, Lecomte was still considered a 2-year-old. Southern rules that were in effect prior to the Civil War designated ages of horses as calculated from May 1. Lecomte won both mile heats, including a time of 1:45 1/2 in the second heat, the fastest ever in America at the time.
Lecomte did not race again until November. He returned to win at two-mile heats at the Pharsalia Course in Mississippi before winning three races in three weeks back at Metairie to remain undefeated through five starts. His victory Jan. 6, 1854, was in mile heats against Sallie Ward, considered one of the best mares in the South prior to the Civil War. Lecomte was finally defeated when he met up with Hall of Famer Lexington in the Great State Post Stakes in consecutive four-mile heats.
Harry F. Guggenheim
In addition to his considerable impact on horse racing, Guggenheim was a leading figure in the fields of publishing, mining, government service, aeronautics, and philanthropy. Born in New Jersey in 1890, Guggenheim developed a passion for racing after graduating from Cambridge University. He became a significant figure in the sport as an owner, breeder, and industry leader.
Under the name Cain Hoy Stable, Guggenheim won 540 races as an owner with purse earnings of $6.2 million. He also bred the winners of 1,230 races (those horses earned $8.7 million). Cain Hoy campaigned 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star (a $6,500 purchase and the only horse to defeat Native Dancer), champion Bald Eagle, and Hall of Fame member Ack Ack.
Along with Hall of Famers John W. Hanes and Christopher T. Chenery, Guggenheim outlined a plan for a non-profit to reorganize New York racing in the 1950s, which eventually led to the creation of the New York Racing Association. In 1969, with his health failing, Guggenheim dispersed all his stock except his stallions and Ack Ack. His breeding stock went to Keeneland's fall sale that year and his horses in training were sold at Belmont Park for $4,751,200 for 137 head, a record gross for a dispersal.
Clement L. Hirsch
Hirsch was born in 1914 in St. Louis into a successful family of retail merchants. After serving in the Marine Corps in World War II and being involved in the invasion of Guadalcanal, Hirsch purchased his first racehorse in 1947. During more than 50 years as an owner, Hirsch employed only two trainers. He first hired Robert H. "Red" McDaniel, then Warren Stute, who remained with him for more than 40 years. A member of The Jockey Club, Hirsch was successful with a number of horses imported from South America, among them the colt Figonero, who won the 1969 Hollywood Gold Cup and set a world record for 1 1/8 miles in the Del Mar Handicap. He was also successful with the filly Magical Maiden, who won the 1991 Hollywood Starlet (G1) and the 1992 Las Virgenes Stakes (G1). In 1993, Magical Maiden won the Chula Vista Handicap (G2) at Del Mar, a race that track officials later renamed the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap.
While successful racing horses, Hirsch is best remembered in the sport as a co-founder and president of the Oak Tree Racing Association. In 1968, the operators of Del Mar decided to cancel their fall racing program and to host only a summer meet. Hirsch, along with businessman/racehorse owner Louis R. Rowan, veterinarian Dr. Jack Robbins, and other racing enthusiasts, formed Oak Tree to annually host a fall meet at Santa Anita Park. It proved to be successful, and Hirsch served as its president from its inception until his death in 2000. The Oak Tree meetings also benefited numerous racing charities.
Joe Hirsch
Born in New York City in 1928, Hirsch enjoyed a prolific journalism career that carried him from the eras of Citation and Native Dancer to the dawn of the 21st century. He earned a degree in journalism from New York University, then served in the United States Army for four years. Following his time in the military, Hirsch worked briefly for The New York Times before joining the staff at The Morning Telegraph. He transitioned to its companion publication, Daily Racing Form, where he spent 49 years (1954 through 2003) and became one of racing's most visible and impactful figures. Hirsch became the Form's executive columnist in 1974 and held that title until his retirement.
Through his omnipresent and comprehensive reporting and personal access to the leaders and prominent participants in the sport, Hirsch became highly influential and used his platform to become one of the game's greatest ambassadors.
Pete Denk, Karen Johnson, Byron King, Eric Mitchell, and Joe Perez contributed to this report.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
