Hall of Fame

Hiram Woodruff was born in 1817 near Flemington, New Jersey. His father John was noted as a trainer of trotters. In 1831, at the age of thirteen, Hiram rode Topgallant by Messenger to many victories. His first race was ridden at Hunting Park, Philadelphia. At fourteen he was winning long distance races to saddle; his record was an eighteen-mile in-one-hour victory on Shaking Quaker. Woodruff's long distance riding with the fine trotter Dutchman soon brought him fame by defeating the likes of Lady Suffolk, Rattler and Awful. But his greatest rides were on Dexter, the champion trotter of that time. His book, The Trotting Horse of America (1868), was a best-seller of the day and is still used as an excellent reference. Woodruff is considered the first representative figure of Standardbred training tradition. He died in 1867.

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals