HISTORIC HAMBLETONIAN ITEMS FEATURED IN CRANBURY MUSEUM EXHIBIT

[Hambletonian Society]

HISTORIC HAMBLETONIAN ITEMS FEATURED IN CRANBURY MUSEUM EXHIBIT
CRANBURY, NJ – April 10, 2009 -- The Hambletonian, America’s richest and most treasured trotting race, is featured in a multi-media museum exhibit in the historic town of Cranbury, NJ, where the Hambletonian Society office relocated four years ago.

The exhibit is in the Cranbury Museum, 4 Park Place East, Cranbury, NJ on Sundays through June from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free; donations are appreciated. For more information, call 609-655-2611.

This old race bike and driving colors are part of the Hambletonian display at the Cranbury Museum on Sundays through the month of June.

New Jersey possesses an extensive equine history and many of standardbred racing’s archives and record books include the accomplishments of trotters and pacers bred, raced, owned or trained in the Garden State.

he founding sire of the breed, Hambletonian, born in 1849 and considered the father of all modern-day standardbreds was foaled and raised in New York but the Hambletonian race named in his honor has been held in New Jersey longer than any other host state – a record 28 years.

The race, begun in 1926 to promote the breeding of trotters, was lured away from the cornfields of DuQuoin, IL, in 1981 by the sport’s newest and most prosperous metropolitan track, the Meadowlands of East Rutherford, NJ.

The exhibit, entitled The Hambletonian: Its Trotters, their Connections and the Racing Event 1926-2009, features trophies, posters, memorabilia, ephemera and photographs from the 84 editions of the legendary race, including an award-winning video presentation created by the Meadowlands on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Hambletonian and narrated by Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford.

The exhibit was made possible largely through items loaned by Mary Lou Dondarski, who has been an avid collector of Hambletonian memorabilia associated with the famous trotting race since she began working for the Society more than 15 years ago.

Mark Mullen, a Cranbury resident, president of Fair Winds Farm in Cream Ridge and a Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey director, loaned the museum the Hambletonian trophy won by Mack Lobell in 1987.

John Campbell, who drove Mack Lobell to victory, donated a set of his racing colors. Campbell, of River Vale, NJ, won six Hambletonians, the most of any driver in history.

The 2009 Hambletonian, which carries a purse of $1.7 million, is on Saturday, August 8, at the Meadowlands. The race will be broadcast live on NBC from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

--Submitted by the Hambletonian Society

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