benjamin white
"Ben" White was born near Whitevale, Ontario, Canada in 1873. He drove his first race at the age of fifteen and at the age of twenty-one took up the sport as his career. White learned his trade from the master, Pop Geers, at Village Farm, East Aurora, New York. He remained there until the farm closed in 1905 and then began training for the Knox family of that city. White's first Kentucky Futurity entry was The Abbe, later to become a top sire. In 1915 White became Pastime Stable's head trainer, with his headliners being Lee Axworthy and Volga. After a few seasons at Pastime, White opened a public stable. With the association of one of his leading patrons, W. N. Reynolds, he had a brilliant harness career, during which he won four Hambletonians, seven Kentucky Futurities, six Matron Stakes and four Review Futurities. It would be impossible to name all the famous horses bred, trained and raced by Ben White, but Hambletonian winner and 1973 Immortal Rosalind will probably be best remembered. Ben White died in Orlando, Florida in 1958.
Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals