Each year since 1961, living persons who have made a significant contribution to the sport of Harness Racing are nominated by the members of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) at each chapter level. The criteria that guides selection requires ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to harness racing. To be eligible a nominee must have been active in any phase of harness racing at some time during the period after September 1940. A candidate may also be considered if the person has shown extraordinary accomplishments in the sport over a reasonable period of time.
A selection screening committee refines the list to a manageable number. Biographies are then prepared and ballots sent to all writers with two or more years of membership in the Association. Members of the Living Hall of Fame are also eligible to vote. Seventy-five percent of the ballots cast are required for election.
Induction ceremonies take place at the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen, NY, on the first Sunday in July. Hall of Famers receive rings as personal reminders of their crowning achievements in the sport and their lifelike statuettes are placed in the Hall of Fame. Upon their death, Hall of Famers are automatically regarded as "Immortals" and their statuettes are displayed in the Peter D. Haughton Hall of Immortals.