Chasing Horse Ghosts-telling Greyhound's story pt.12-revisiting the Harness Racing Museum

This stunning sculpture of Adios by James Slick can be seen at the Harness Racing Museum. Adios was a legendary pacer.

August 29, 2025
It's been just over two years since I spent almost two weeks at a little cabin in New Jersery, about twenty-five minutes from Goshen, New York. I stayed there with my best friend, traveling buddy and research assistant, Boedy. This cabin near a section of the Appalachian Trail is on the site of an old mill of some sort. The ruins of the old structure remain, choked by the foliage as the wooded hillside reclaims the land where the mill once stood. 
        Today I drove past the road that the cabin is on. I was tempted to stop by and have a look but I was on my way back to the Harness Racing Museum and was already behind schedule. The last  time I drove that road and set eyes on that cabin, Boedy was with me. I'd completed the largest leg of my research journey for the Greyhound book and with hope in my heart imagined Boedy and I returning to this cabin in two years with a finished Greyhound book. Boedy would be fifteen years old by then and I wondered back then if I would still have him. As it turned out, Boedy didn't quite make it to the end of this particular journey. I lost him on June 16.

This beautiful little cabin was my home for almost two weeks. If you're staying near Mount Vernon, NJ, check out the Serenity Cabin! See more photos of Boedy and the old mill in the slide show below:

       I continued down the same road I drove many times two years before, nodding at the familiar landmarks and feeling the odd sensations that accompany a return to a place that is both known and unknown. I am completing this leg of the Greyhound journey without Boedy. I had a box of Greyhound books for the museum gift shop and a copy of the book to donate to the library--the trade for the use of the resources housed there (in addition to the payment of my annual membership--a nice feature of membership). 
       Goshen looked just as it did the last time I saw it. I'd hoped to stop at my favorite bagel shop but again, I was running behind schedule so I skipped it for now. I would try on my way out of town (as it turned out, I arrived too late, just minutes after closing...maybe next year). The museum greeted me with a familiar comfort as I walked through the door. A sort of "coming home" feeling that is known to anyone who spends as much time in the past as I do--when they cross the threshold of a place that contains so many pieces of what they are passionate about. 
       The museum had some new exhibits and a few changes to existing exhibits to celebrate the 100th Hambletonian. I looked forward to exploring but first I wanted to deliver the book to Paul, the librarian and catch up with Rebecca (collections curator), Janet (executive director), and Dillon (Rebecca's assistant--all of whom were very helpful in accessing and exploring the museums vast Greyhound collection.

One of my favorite things to see was this board from Good Time Park. Greyhound still holds the track record of 1:58 1/4 set in a time trial August 10, 1937. Greyhound's fastest racing mile at Good Time Park was against Rosalind, going the mile in 1:59 1/2 on August 9, 1938.

The museum has several of Greyhound's shoes but this one is extra cool because it says exactly when he wore it. The 1:59 1/4 record was made at Springfield, Illinois, August 23, 1940 in the FFA trot. Just two other horses went to the post that day, racing for second money.

This lamp is an original item from Greyhound's lounge outside his stall. The photo to the right shows the same lamp sitting outside Greyhound's picture window.

Below: some of the artifacts at the museum. It's amazing what they have. For someone like me who loves the long-ago history of the sport, I particularly enjoyed the artifacts from the 1800s and early 1900s from such historical legends as Maude S, Goldsmith Maid, and Lou Dillon. 
Also of interest were the dioramas featuring models of famous Standardbreds from decades past. Many of these were part of Greyhound's pedigree and/or story.

        It was a full circle moment of sorts, to return to a place where an important part of this journey began. This time more than two years had passed but now I had a book--the finished product--in my hand. Back in 2023, with my Goshen trip behind me, I packed up my truck and Boedy and I headed to Michigan. There I spent the rest of the summer putting in hours a day, day after day, reading through all the information I collected, scanning thousands of pages of old newspapers on newspapers.com and scratching out the first (very rough) draft of Greyhound's story. That's the funny thing about writing that I never really thought about until it was part of my life--the fact that an author can work for months or even years without any pay at all, only the hope that a book will come together, that it will be published, and then that people will buy it. The thousands of working hours I put in traveling, researching, and writing over the three years it took to take Greyhound's story from idea to reality are now something tangible. I'm so excited to be able to share this remarkable and inspiring story with the world and introduce new generations to the legendary trotter!
        I hope you've enjoyed these blog posts and I hope you love reading Greyhound's story. It will be officially released nationwide on September 30th. However, you can pre-order signed copies HERE or you can buy one from me during one of my upcoming events (see below). 
       Keep an eye on this blog. I will continue to post about Greyhound and some of my adventures on this journey. There was a ton of information and photos that wouldn't fit in the book that will eventually be in this blog. In the mean time, Trot Fast~Fly High!

More from this author: