National Museum of Racing announces 2026 Hall of Fame class
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Eleven new members have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In the Contemporary Category, racehorse Kona Gold (KY) and the late trainers Christophe Clement and John A. Shirreffs earned the requisite votes from the nationwide voting panel for election. In the Historic Review Category, racehorses Gulch (KY) and Mongo (VA) and the late trainer David A. Whiteley were chosen by a committee vote. In the Pillars of the Turf Category, the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, Dr. Robert Copelan, Seth W. Hancock, G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., and the late Joseph E. Widener received the necessary support from the selection committee.
Kona Gold, Clement, and Shirreffs were chosen on the majority of ballots submitted (50 percent plus one vote is required for election). A total of 143 voters (92.8 percent) participated from the 154 eligible to cast ballots. In the Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf categories, 75 percent approval from the respective committees is required for election.
The 2026 Hall of Fame Class will be enshrined at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, at Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The event will be aired live on the Museum website at racingmuseum.org. It is open to the public and free to attend. Renowned broadcaster Charlsie Cantey will serve as the master of ceremonies.
A bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez, Kona Gold (Java Gold—Double Sunrise, by Slew o’ Gold) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in 2000. That year, he set the Churchill Downs track record of 1:07.77 for six furlongs in winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1). Campaigned by Bruce Headley (who also served as his trainer), Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh, et al, Kona Gold raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He set a track record for 5½ furlongs at Santa Anita Park and won a total of 10 graded stakes. Kona Gold, who was ridden in all 14 of his victories by Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis, won multiple editions of the Bing Crosby Handicap (G2), Potrero Grande Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G2), and El Conejo Handicap (G3). He registered Beyer Speed Figures of 110 or higher 17 times. On 10 occasions, his Beyer Figure was 115 or higher. Kona Gold’s longevity and excellence at the highest level was evident in his five consecutive appearances in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Christophe Clement (1965-2025), a native of Paris, France, won 2,576 races with purse earnings of $184,127,449 million (12th all time) in a career that spanned from 1991 through 2025. He trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, winner of four straight Grade 1s on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist, who also won consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in 2014 and 2015. Clement won 286 graded stakes. His Grade 1 wins included multiple editions of the Beverly D. (2001, 2007, 2008), Del Mar Oaks (2007, 2013), Diana Handicap (2003, 2015), Manhattan Handicap (2001, 2009, 2010), Man o’ War (2009, 2010), Turf Mile (2010, 2011), and Sword Dancer (1999, 2011, 2021, 2022, 2024), which was renamed the Christophe Clement Turf.
Clement began his career in the United States by winning with the first horse he saddled, Spectaculaire, on Oct. 20, 1991, at Belmont. He trained 22 horses who earned $1 million or more. Other Grade 1 winners trained by Clement included Discreet Marq, Far Bridge, Forbidden Apple, Gufo, Mauralanka, Relaxed Gesture, Rutherienne, Voodoo Dancer, and Winchester, among others. Clement won the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) with Pizza Bianca.
John A. Shirreffs (1945-2026) was a native of Leavenworth, Kan., who trained the winners of 596 races, including 113 graded events, with purse earnings of $58,581,916. Although he had a few starters as early as 1978, Shirreffs did not train full time until 1994. He won the Kentucky Derby (G1) in 2005 with 50-1 longshot Giacomo and later became the conditioner of one of racing’s all-time greats, Hall of Fame member Zenyatta. Shirreffs trained the four-time Eclipse Award winner to 19 consecutive victories, including 13 Grade 1s, from 2007 through 2010. Named Horse of the Year in 2010 and Champion Older Female each year from 2008 through 2010, Zenyatta’s Grade 1 wins included the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in 2008 and the Classic the following year. In 2009, Shirreffs also won the Ladies’ Classic with Life Is Sweet, becoming the first trainer to win both Classics in the same year.
At the Grade 1 level, Shirreffs won five editions of both the Santa Margarita Handicap (1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010) and Vanity Handicap (1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010); three runnings of the Lady’s Secret (2008, 2009, 2010), Santa Anita Derby (2007, 2017, 2020), and Clement L. Hirsch (2008, 2009, 2010); and two renewals of the American Oaks (2010, 2011), Apple Blossom (2008, 2010), and Santa Maria (2000, 2003). Shirreffs trained nine horses that earned more than $1 million: Baeza, Express Train, Giacomo, Gormley, Hollywood Story, Life Is Sweet, Manistique, Tiago, and Zenyatta.
A bay colt bred in Kentucky by Peter Brant, Gulch (Mr. Prospector—Jameela, by Rambunctious) competed from 1986 through 1988 and posted a record of 13-8-3 from 32 starts with earnings of $3,095,521. Overall, Gulch won 11 graded stakes, including seven Grade 1s. He won Grade 1 races each year of his career, ranging in distances from six furlongs to 1⅛ miles. Campaigned by Brant and trained by Hall of Famers LeRoy Jolley (1986 through 1987) and D. Wayne Lukas (1988), Gulch won the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in 1988.
Gulch won four graded stakes as a juvenile, including Grade 1 scores in the Hopeful and Futurity. As a sophomore, he won the Bay Shore (G2) and Wood Memorial (G1) before finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), fourth in the Preakness (G1), and third in the Belmont (G1). Between the Preakness and Belmont, Gulch won the Metropolitan Handicap (G1). During his championship season as a 4-year-old in 1988, Gulch won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), repeated in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1), and won the Carter Handicap (G1). He was never out of the money in 11 starts that year (at eight different tracks), also placing in the Whitney Handicap (G1), Oaklawn Handicap (G1), Californian (G1), Tom Fool (G2), Iselin (G1), and Vosburgh (G1). Gulch is one of only six horses to win the Metropolitan Handicap multiple times, joining Hall of Famers Devil Diver (1943, 1944, 1945), Equipoise (1932, 1933), Forego (1976, 1977), and Stymie (1947, 1948), as well as standout Mad Hatter (1921, 1922). Gulch is the only horse to win the race at age 3 and repeat the following year.
A chestnut colt bred in Virginia by Marion duPont Scott, Mongo (Royal Charger—Accra, by Annapolis) raced from 1961 through 1964 with a record of 22-10-4 from 46 starts and earnings of $820,766. Trained by Frank Bonsal for duPont Scott, Mongo was voted Champion Male Turf Horse in 1963. He won a total of 16 stakes races, including the prestigious Washington, D.C. International and two editions each of the United Nations Handicap, Trenton Handicap, and Diamond State Handicap. Mongo won races at nine different tracks — Aqueduct, Atlantic City, Bowie, Delaware, Garden State, Hialeah, Laurel, Monmouth, and Pimlico — and defeated Hall of Famers Carry Back, Gun Bow, and Kelso twice each.
As a 3-year-old in 1962, Mongo won the Lexington Handicap, Pilgrim Handicap, Trenton Handicap (defeating Carry Back), United Nations Handicap (defeating T.V. Lark), and Ventnor Handicap. During his championship season, he won the Bowie Handicap, Camden Handicap, Diamond State Handicap, Kelly-Olympic Handicap, repeated in the United Nations (defeating Carry Back and Never Bend), and capped his season by defeating Kelso in the D.C. International. Returning at 5 in 1964, he won the John B. Campbell Handicap (defeating Gun Bow), Monmouth Handicap (defeating Kelso and Gun Bow), Widener Handicap, his second Diamond State Handicap, and closed out his career with a second victory and a track record in the Trenton Handicap at Garden State Park. Mongo ranked 11th all time in career earnings when he was retired.
David A. Whiteley (1944-2017) won 454 races with purse earnings of $11,837,823 in a career that spanned from 1970 through 1995. The Easton, Md., native won 45 graded stakes in his career and 62 total blacktype races. Whiteley trained Eclipse Award winners Revidere (Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, 1976), Hall of Famer Waya (Champion Older Female, 1979), and Just a Game (Champion Female Turf Horse, 1980). He won the 1979 Belmont Stakes with Coastal, denying the Triple Crown hopes of Hall of Famer Spectacular Bid.
Whiteley’s stakes wins with Revidere included the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), Cotillion Stakes (G2), Gazelle Handicap (G2), Monmouth Oaks (G1), and Ruffian Stakes (G1). With Waya, he won the Aqueduct Turf Classic (G1), Beldame (G1), Diana (G2), Flower Bowl, Man o’ War (G1), Santa Ana Handicap, Santa Barbara Handicap (G1), Saratoga Cup, and Top Flight Handicap (G1). He saddled Just a Game to victories in the Diana (G2), Flower Bowl (G2), La Prevoyante Handicap (G3), Matchmaker (G2), New York Handicap (G3), Orchid Handicap (G3), and Suwannee River Handicap.
Whiteley’s other top horses included Bailjumper, French Colonial, Highland Blade, Instrument Landing, and Tiller, among others. He achieved additional Grade 1 wins in the Brooklyn Handicap (1983), Delaware Handicap (1983), Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap (1983), Monmouth Invitational Handicap (1979), Pan American Handicap (1983), San Antonio Stakes (1979), San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap (1979), Top Flight Handicap (1978), and Wood Memorial Stakes (1979). Whiteley was the son of Hall of Fame trainer Frank Whiteley, Jr.
Prince Khalid bin Abdullah (1937-2021) was a native of Saudi Arabia who established Juddmonte Farms, which he developed into one of the world’s most accomplished breeding and racing operations. Juddmonte’s success in both breeding and ownership under Abdullah’s ownership was recognized with five Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Breeder (1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009) and four Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Owner (1992, 2003, 2016, 2017). Abdullah, who became an owner in 1977, earned his first Group 1 victory with the juvenile Known Fact just two years later. Known Fact went on to win the 1980 English 2,000 Guineas on the disqualification of Nureyev. Another early Juddmonte success story was Dancing Brave, honored as the 1986 British Horse of the Year when his major victories included the 2,000 Guineas and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Abdullah’s Juddmonte horses won more than 500 stakes races worldwide, including 118 Grade/Group 1 victories (102 of which were with homebreds). In Europe, Abdullah’s Juddmonte runners won 21 Cartier Racing Awards, including Horse of the Year honors for Enable, Frankel, and Kingman. Juddmonte homebred Frankel was honored as Cartier Horse of the Year in 2011 and 2012, as he went unbeaten in 14 career starts, including 10 Group 1 victories. Enable was honored as Cartier Horse of the Year in 2017 and 2019. Her 11 Grade/Group 1 victories included consecutive wins in the 2017 and 2018 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. She also won the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) at Churchill Downs, making her the first horse to win the Arc and Turf in the same year.
In the United States, Juddmonte bred and campaigned 2003 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Empire Maker and 2001 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Flute, among others. Juddmonte sent out seven Breeders’ Cup winners under Abdullah’s ownership, including 2016 Classic (G1) winner Arrogate, who went on to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Other Breeders’ Cup winners included three in the Filly and Mare Turf (G1): Banks Hill (2001), Intercontinental (2005), and Midday (2009). In 2018, when Enable captured the Turf (G1), Juddmonte also had Mile (G1) winner Expert Eye. Rounding out the group is 2008 Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Ventura. All but Arrogate were homebreds.
Dr. Robert Copelan, a native of Cincinnati, is a pioneer in the field of equine surgery and was one of the 11 founding members who established the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) in 1954. Copelan served as its president in 1973 and continued to participate on multiple AAEP committees throughout the years. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Copelan has mentored many who have worked with him. Dr. Copelan was among the pioneers of equine joint surgery in the 1960s at his hospital at Sunnyside Farm in Paris, Ky.
Even before Dr. Copelan graduated from the Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1953, he had begun to make a mark in racing as an exercise rider at Calumet Farm, where he was involved with breaking 1952 Kentucky Derby winner Hill Gail. Dr. Copelan became a racetrack practitioner following graduation, traveling regularly to tracks in Florida, Illinois, and Kentucky. Among the many distinguished horses entrusted to his care at Sunnyside was Hall of Famer Susan’s Girl, who after surgery went on to become the first filly or mare raced exclusively in the United States to earn $1 million.
In addition to his veterinary work, Dr. Copelan for a time assisted with yearling selection for Keeneland sales. As an adviser, he contributed to the emergence of the late W. T. Young’s Overbrook Farm racing and breeding program. He also served as a member of the Related Medications Committee of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council. Dr. Copelan received Ohio State’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1978, was named AAEP Distinguished Live Member in 1992, Honor Guest of the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners in 2000, and Honor Guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America’s annual testimonial dinner in 2007.
Seth W. Hancock, a native of Lexington, Ky., followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and took over the reins of historic Claiborne Farm in 1972 at the age of 23, following the death of his father, Arthur B. “Bull” Hancock, Jr., who in turn had taken over in the 1940s from his father, Arthur B. Hancock.
Hancock attended The University of the South and graduated from the University of Kentucky. He brought an agriculture degree to what was intended as a lengthy course of working in the various divisions of the farm. He went on to lead Claiborne longer than did his father or grandfather.
Hancock quickly demonstrated his horsemanship when he purchased Judger as a yearling from his father’s dispersal in 1972. The colt raced for Hancock and won the 1974 Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. And then came Secretariat, a colt bred by the Meadow Stud of Virginian Christopher Chenery, a longtime Claiborne client. While Chenery’s daughter, Penny Tweedy, was leading the family racing stable through the transition from father to daughter, homebred 2-year-old champion Secretariat appeared poised for greatness. Meadow Stud estate issues required a cash infusion. Hancock stepped up and syndicated the horse for $6 million, an astounding figure at the time.
Bull Hancock’s estate plans, meanwhile, called for a return to the commercial sales market, rather than distributing the annual foal crop into closely held partnerships. Seth Hancock carried out his father’s wishes. In 1976, he sold Wajima at the Keeneland July Sale for a record $600,000. He followed that up with a $1.3 million sale-topping Northern Dancer colt at the 1978 Keeneland July Sale, the second-highest price ever for a yearling to that date. Named Nureyev, the Claiborne-bred went on to racing success in Europe and later proved among the best sons of Northern Dancer at stud.
Another major development on the international stallion scene was Caerleon, a Nijinsky II colt bred and sold at Keeneland July by Claiborne. Caerleon won the 1983 French Derby, then embarked on a stud career during which he sired more than 100 stakes winners. He was two-time leading sire in England and Ireland.
Hancock also had a role in the breeding of Sadler’s Wells, the great Northern Dancer stallion whose dam, Fairy Bridge, was bred by Claiborne. In addition to having strong influence on the breeding of future stallions, Hancock added his own chapters to his father’s and grandfather’s knack for acquiring future stars, including Danzig, Mr. Prospector, and Unbridled. Homebreds Pulpit and Forty Niner joined the elite rosters standing at Claiborne during Hancock’s tenure.
Hancock reached a milestone when homebred Swale carried the Claiborne colors to victory in the 1984 Kentucky Derby. The euphoria was short, for soon after Swale added a victory in the Belmont Stakes, he collapsed and died. Swale was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male and his earnings helped Claiborne reach the top spot among North American breeders with earnings of $5.5 million that season.
In Hancock’s 40-plus years running the farm, he guided the operation through significant changes in the sport and in the industry. One was the creation of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984. Seth Hancock gave the program an important endorsement by signing up Claiborne to provide income from stallion seasons, a key source of Breeders’ Cup funding. Claiborne homebred Lure, a Hall of Famer, was twice a Breeders’ Cup winner for the farm.
Another major event was the passing of William Haggin Perry in 1993, ending a prolific partnership. Since the mid-1990s, Adele Dilschneider has become a successful partner for Claiborne Farm. Together they have raced several major stakes winners, including Eclipse champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Blame, Grade 1 winner and top stallion Arch, and record-setting Grade 1 winner Lea.
In addition, Dilschneider was a partner with Claiborne in the filly Yell, whose victory in the 2003 Raven Run (G3) at Keeneland was historic. Claiborne was awarded a one-of-a-kind Gold Bowl for the milestone win. The bowl represented the farm’s success in Keeneland’s major races and is a feat that had never been previously achieved. The bowl is the most prestigious award in a program that begins with the presentation of a gold julep cup to the winning owner of a graded stakes race at Keeneland. The program, inaugurated by the track in 1952 and revised in 1994, awards a solid-gold serving tray and pitcher for attaining success in major stakes victories. Once a gold pitcher is awarded, an owner must win eight more graded stakes at Keeneland to earn the gold bowl.
Hancock was the Honor Guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America’s annual testimonial dinner in 2000. Ten years later, Claiborne was presented with an Eclipse Award of Merit. In 2015, Seth Hancock passed the leadership baton at Claiborne to his son, Seth Walker Hancock, Jr.
G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. was born in Cleveland into a family with strong ties to thoroughbred racing and breeding. His paternal grandfather, George M. Humphrey, was a prominent owner who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Humphrey raises his thoroughbreds on the fringe of the famed Bluegrass region at his 1,000-acre Shawnee Farm near Harrodsburg, Ky., 30 miles southwest of Lexington. The farm, which dates back to the 18th century, was purchased by Humphrey’s aunt, Pansy Poe, in 1938. Poe was the first woman elected to Keeneland’s board of directors. Humphrey purchased the farm from Poe’s estate after her death in 1979. He had previously spent several summers working for his aunt on the farm. Humphrey earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. After graduation from Yale and before Harvard, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for three and a half years, earning the rank of 1st Lieutenant-Infantry Company Commander. While enlisted in the Marines, Humphrey earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Navy Commendation Medal, and three Purple Hearts for his Marine service.
Humphrey’s racing stable has traditionally focused on fillies that have been channeled back to his breeding operation. Top runners for his stable have included Grade 1 winners Centre Court, Clear Mandate, and Personal Diary, as well as multiple graded stakes winners Frivolous, Rey de Café, and Communique. He has been the leading owner at Keeneland eight times and ranks No. 6 all time there with 146 wins. Together with his wife, Sally, 1980 Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk was bred and raised at Shawnee Farm. In 1985, Creme Fraiche added the Belmont Stakes to Humphrey’s list of accomplishments. Elizabeth Moran’s Brushwood Stable raced the gelded son of Rich Cream, whom Humphrey co-bred with his aunt, Pamela H. Firman.
One of the sport’s most dedicated leaders, Humphrey has served racing with distinction in various capacities, including more than 20 years on the board of Churchill Downs, including a stint as chairman. He has also been a director of the Keeneland Association, served four terms as a steward of The Jockey Club, and held several senior positions with the Breeders’ Cup, among others. In 1999, the Keeneland Association honored Humphrey with their Mark of Distinction and in 2011 he achieved a unique double as a thoroughbred owner and partner in the St. Louis Cardinals that October when he earned the leading owner title at the Keeneland fall meeting one day after watching the Cardinals win the World Series. Humphrey has also held roles with the American Horse Council, BloodHorse magazine, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and National Thoroughbred Racing Association, among others. He was the Thoroughbred Club of America’s Honor Guest in 2017.
Joseph E. Widener (1871-1943) was the second son of transportation and real estate magnate Peter A. B. Widener. The Philadelphia-born Widener studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. In 1901, at the age of 30, Widener made a significant commitment to compete both in flat and jump racing. He was elected to The Jockey Club in 1909 and later served the organization as a steward and vice chairman. Widener bred and owned steeplechase immortals Fairmount and Bushranger, both Hall of Fame members. He also bred flat champions Polynesian (1945 Preakness winner), Stagehand, and Valenciennes. His steeplechase horses won three editions of the American Grand National: Relluf (1914), Arc Light (1929), and Bushranger (1936). Widener bred a total of 79 stakes winners.
Following the death of August Belmont II in 1924, Widener purchased Belmont’s stallion Fair Play (leading sire in 1927 for the third time) for his Elmendorf Farm breeding operation. He also purchased a son of Fair Play named Chance Shot, who went on to win the 1927 Belmont Stakes. Widener won the Belmont twice more with homebreds Hurryoff (1933) and Peace Chance (1934), the latter a son of Chance Shot. As part of the dispersal of the Belmont estate, Widener also acquired majority control of Belmont Park and became president of the Westchester Racing Association. He was a strong advocate for the adoption of pari-mutuel wagering, which debuted in New York in 1940.
In 1929, Widener purchased controlling interest in Hialeah Park and began immediate upgrades. When bookmakers were ruled off, Widener brought pari-mutuel wagering to the Florida track. He hired architect Lester W. Geisler to design a new grandstand and clubhouse facilities along with landscaped gardens of native flora and fauna and a lake in the infield that Widener stocked with flamingos. The upgrades and enhanced purses enticed the best stables in the East to establish their winter bases at Hialeah. As part of his effort to maintain clean sport, Widener also introduced the first saliva test in America at Hialeah. Under Widener’s leadership, Hialeah became one of the most popular and important racetracks in the world. Failing health forced Widener to step down from his top roles at Belmont and Hialeah in 1939, but he remained an influential figure in the sport until his death in 1943.
