milton d. taylor
Regarded as the prototype for the Standardbred sport's presiding judge, "Judge" Taylor dedicated sixty-one years of service to harness racing. The involvement for this native of Rhode Island began in the early 1920s when, at age fifteen, he drove the trotter Nelda Dillon to a 2:08 3/4 victory at Readville, Massachusetts. He worked for the USTA during that organization's formative years, as well as for a great number of harness tracks. His tenure as a track official began as chief inspector for the USTA in 1945. It was as presiding judge, first in Maryland, next at Liberty Bell and finally Yonkers Raceway, that Milt Taylor became known for his fearless decisions for the good of the sport. He died in 1984.
Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals