Hall of Fame inducts 7 on Friday, including Smarty Jones

Seven new inductees joined the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday morning in a ceremony led by Tom Durkin.

Only one inductee from the contemporary category was voted in this year, fan favorite and dual classic winner Smarty Jones, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2004.

Three inductees were voted in by the historic review committee. They were Hermis, a top horse from the first years of the 20th century; Decathlon, a top sprinter from the 1950s; and George Conway, trainer of early 20th-century stars Crusader and War Admiral. The historic review committee considers segments of horse racing history on a rotating basis. This year's period of eligibility included 1900 through 1959.

The Pillars of the Turf division, for pioneers and leaders in the sport, also welcomed three new inductees, journalist Edward Bowen, breeder and farm owner Arthur Hancock III and horse and racetrack owner Richard Ten Broeck.

Contemporary

It has been 21 years since Smarty Jones captured the hearts of horse racing fans in Pennsylvania and across the country, reigniting the fire of people who already loved horse racing and bringing a new generation of fans into the game. Though he raced only nine times, he won eight races including the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He still has fans and admirers now at age 24, while he stands stud in his home state at Equistar Training and Breeding. But Patricia Chapman, who co-owned and co-bred Smarty Jones as Someday Farm with her late husband Roy Chappan, was not sure she would still be alive to see Smarty Jones in the Hall of Fame.

"I had heard through the grapevine that if they could just get his name on the ballot, that the voters would do the rest," Chapman said at Friday's induction. "I think that's what happened."

Smarty Jones is still a fan favorite over two decades on, with Smarty Jones signs sprinkled amid the crowd at Friday's induction. John Servis, who trained the colt all the way from Philadelphia Park to the Triple Crown series, emphasized that connection.

"Beyond his talent, Smarty Jones had something even more special," Servis said. "He had a connection with people. he wasn't just a racehorse, he was a hero. Whether it was his rags-to-riches story, his blue-collar roots or the way he fought every step of the way, fans saw themselves in him."

Also present for the induction was Stewart Elliott, Smarty Jones's jockey for all nine starts of his career. "Many people know Smarty, but I am fortunate and lucky enough to say that I was the only one on his back and felt how determined he was, how much heart he had and how much he loved to run."

Historic Review Committee

Both horses inducted by the Historic Review Committee overcame rough starts to have stellar careers.

No one in 1901 thought a 2-year-old named Hermis was destined for the hall of fame. He started slow and was beaten 17 lengths on debut in a $400 race at Hawthorne. It took five starts for him to break his maiden, by three lengths under the great Jimmy Winkfield. Though he would go on to win four times as a juvenile, he did all of his running in modest races, mostly at Hawthorne and Latonia.

Time did wonders for Hermis. Though his 3-year-old season started rocky, he went on to finish the year with a nine-win streak including wins in the Travers and the Saranac at Saratoga. At 4 it was a similar story: a slow start but a hot finish. He won nine more times that year, with the richest victories coming in the Merchants & Citizens at Saratoga and the Brighton Cup at Brighton. BloodHorse retroctively named him horse of the year for both 1902 and 1903. He had another good season at 5, winning four times and being named the retroactive champion older horse, and also won twice at 6. In all Hermis finished his career with a 55: 29-8-6 line. 

Decathlon was one of the fastest sprinters of the 1950s but almost did not make it to the races at all. Alfred Nuckols, whose father and uncle bred and raised Decathlon, discussed a freak injury where he stepped on a nail, which ran through his foot. After being kept off that foot for five weeks, it healed well enough for him to run, but the effects were visible. "It left him with a deformed foot and a most ludicrous action," Nuckols said. "His front legs paddled out like a pacer's, with his feet swinging out in opposite directions a foot in diameter."

That action didn't slow him down, however. He was small but balanced, and his blazing gate speed left his foes sputtering. Purchased by Beulah Park president Robert J. Dienst and raced in the silks of his River Divide Farm, Decathlon amassed a 42: 25-8-1 record while racing from ages 2 through 4, including eighteen stakes wins and two champion sprint-horse awards.

Also inducted by the historic review committee was trainer George Conway. He spent his whole career around horses, starting as an exercise rider in the late 1880s and advancing to work as a stable foreman for both Louis Feustel and Gwyn Tompkins. Both Feustel and Tompkins worked closely with Glen Riddle Farm, and Conway was in the stable when Feustle had the great Man o'War.

Once Conway struck out as a head trainer, also working with Glen Riddle, he had top horses from the outset. In 1926, his first year in charge of their stock, he trained Belmont Stakes winner Crusader. He had many other good horses in the following years like Speed Boat, War Glory and War Hero.

However, Conway's best horse was saved for last: War Admiral, who he trained from 1936 through 1939. War Admiral won the Triple Crown and horse of the year honors in 1937, and won four stakes in four weeks at Saratoga during the summer of 1938, as well as the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont. War Admiral was retired in February of 1939; Conway himself retired the next week and died later that year.

Pillars of the Turf

Arthur Hancock III, the grandson of Claiborne Farm founder Arthur Hancock and a son of Bull Hancock, worked for his family's farm early in his career. However, when plans were made that management of Claiborne Farm would pass to his brother Seth after Bull Hancock's death, Arthur Hancock III struck out and launched Stone Farm. 

Hancock has been involved with some of the top horses of the last four and a half decades. He and client Leone Peters bred and raced 1982 Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol. The pair also bred Risen Star, who won the Preakness and the Belmont in 1988.

The next year, as part of H-G-W Partners, he owned and raced dual classic winner Sunday Silence, who became a breed-shaping sire in Japan. After Hancock spoke to accept his induction, Japan Racing Association president and CEO Masayoshi Yoshida honored Hancock as well. "Without Sunday Silence, the racing in Japan as we know it would not exist," Yoshida said.

Hancock's influence has continued into the 21st century, as he co-bred 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and also raised and sold 2019 horse of the year Bricks and Mortar. Outside of his breeding and sales work, Hancock has also served on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, as a director at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton and as a member of The Jockey Club.

Hancock thanked his father for setting the foundation for his career, and emphasized the importance of both horse treatment and the perception of it. "How we treat the horse is a reflection on our industry and on each one of us. If it is perceived that he is treated badly, the public will lose interest and walk away. Integrity with dignity is everything in our sport. We have a saying in Kentucky: if you take care of the land, the land will take care of you. I believe it's the same for our sport. If you take care of the horse, the horse will take care of you." 

Also inducted into the hall of fame as pillars of the turf were Ed Bowen and Richard Ten Broeck.

Bowen, inducted by his wife Ruthie Bowen, wrote 22 books about racing and spent several decades as a writer and editor at BloodHorse. After leaving BloodHorse in 1993, he went on to spend 24 years at Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, spearheading fundraisers for equine health research. He also was a trustee of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and chaired the nominating committee from 1987 until his death in 2025.

Ruthie Bowen praised her late husband's dedication to the sport, and noted that he found his work with the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation particularly meaningful. "He really liked the feeling that he was contributing to the well-being of horses, and therefore ultimately contributing to the well-being of the sport."

In addition to two more current pillars of the turf, the Hall of Fame also inducted Richard Ten Broeck, one of the most prominent figures in horse racing through the middle and late 19th century. A colorful character throughout his life, he raced horses in his silks, orange with a black sash, starting by 1840. 

Ten Broeck owned the great Lexington, who had a series of legendary match races against Lecomte. He then purchased Lecomte and sent him, Prioress and Starke overseas. Prioress made him the first American owner to win a major English race, taking the Cesarewitch Stakes in 1857 as a 100-1 long shot. 

In addition to his success as an owner, he was also a successful racetrack manager and promoter. He managed the Bingaman track in Louisiana and the Bascombe track in Alabama, and brought the Metairie track in Louisiana to national prominence after buying it in 1851.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday by his great niece Shelley Ten Broeck. "Over the years, only a handful of stories made their way down through our family. But even with those few details, one thing is clear: he left a lasting impression on the world of horse racing...he was a man with a vision. He helped shape the sport in its early days, and thought far beyond the track."