Goshen, NY---Joe Thomson, founder and co-owner of the expansive Winbak Farms breeding operation, was inducted into the Living Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame Sunday night (July 5).
Also receiving honors on the night were Living Horse Hall of Fame inductees Somebeachsomewhere and Deweycheatumnhowe; Communicators Hall of Fame inductees Bob Marks and Kathy Parker; Immortals Jimmy Jordan and Garland Lobell; Hall of Fame broodmares Art’s Vintage and Presidential Lady; amateur driving champion Steve Oldford; and 2014 Horse of the Year JK She’salady.
Thomson and his wife, JoAnn, started Winbak Farm in 1991. Headquartered on nearly 3,000 acres in Chesapeake City, Md., Winbak Farm has been ranked the leading breeder more than 20 times in three different states or provinces and was U.S. Harness Writers Association Breeder of the Year three times in a single decade.
In light of his success, Thomson was quick to point out that he has a crack staff at his operations in four states and Ontario.
“I often think to myself, ‘What would you do without that staff?’” he said. “Well, you wouldn’t be able to do a lot of business. I would make an analogy to be like a guy in a canoe, in the middle of a lake, without a paddle. [He’s got] lots of ideas, but a failure to execute.”
Thomson was introduced by fellow Hall of Famer Jim Simpson, president of Hanover Shoe Farms, making him a rival on the breeder leaderboard and an ally when the duo travel to Harrisburg, Pa., to remind state legislators of the benefits of alternative gaming revenue to the horse racing industry.
“He built an outstanding broodmare band, well over 350 mares,” said Simpson before adding, tongue-in-cheek, “I’ve asked him how many mares he has. He won’t tell me.”
Somebeachsomewhere and Deweycheatumnhowe were 2008 Pacer of the Year and Trotter of the Year, respectively, with “The Beach” taking Horse of the Year. Brent MacGrath, who trained and co-owned Somebeachsomewhere with James Bagnell, Pamela Dean, Reg Petitpas, Garry Pye and Stuart Rath, marveled at how consistent the horse was during a two-year career in which he won 20 of 21 races, $3,221,299 in purses, and took a mark of 1:46.4 at The Red Mile at 3.
“It really made me feel good that in his last race he appeared to be as good as he was the first day he stepped on the track,” he said.
Local boy Deweycheatumnhowe was trained, driven and co-owned by Ray Schnittker, who kept the horse at his barn a stone’s throw from the Museum at Historic Track. He noted that the winner of $3,155,178 in purses, who he co-owned with Charles Iannazzo, Ted Gewertz and Frank Baldassare, was a favorite among his connections and even his competitors.
“When ‘Dewey’ won the Hambo, Kelvin Harrison said that the roar from the grooms and second trainers in the paddock at the Meadowlands, he’d never heard that before,” he said. “It was a great honor that everybody was rooting for the horse.”
Marks is a longtime writer, pedigree analyst and yearling marketer, and was introduced by fellow Communicators Hall of Famer, Murray Brown, of Hanover Shoe Farms. Parker, editor and general manager of The Horseman and Fair World magazine, was introduced by fellow Communicators Hall of Famer Moira Fanning of the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown.
Immortal inductee Jordan was a leading driver at Roosevelt Raceway in the 1940s and '50s. Horse Immortal inductee, Garland Lobell, was best known for siring the "Trotting Triumvirate" of Andover Hall, Conway Hall and Angus Hall. Broodmare inductees to the Hall of Fame were Art's Vintage, dam of world champion Vintage Master, Great Vintage and Ideal Vintage; and Presidential Lady, dam of 2014 Horse of the Year, JK She'salady, and North America Cup winner JK Endofanera.
Oldford was honored as 2014 Amateur Driver of the Year, his fifth such award. The connections of JK She’salady were presented with the 2014 Delvin and Mary Lib Miller Horse of the Year award.