Two of the most noteworthy horses in recent memory were honored at this year’s National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony Aug. 2 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.. 

The 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride  ) were the only contemporary horses in the 2024 Hall of Fame class. Each was inducted in his first year of eligibility.

While Gun Runner and Justify were inducted five years after their retirements, Abe Hawkins’ honor came more than 150 years after Hawkins’ death in 1867. Born enslaved and enslaved for most of his life, Hawkins was a preeminent jockey in the 19th century. Characterized by historian Katherine Mooney as “nothing less than a national figure,” Hawkins won the Jersey Derby, the Travers Stakes, and the inaugural Jerome Stakes, all in 1866.

Continue reading at BloodHorse…