National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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| Established | 1950 |
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| Location | Saratoga Springs, New York |
| Type | Professional sports hall of fame |
| Director | Christopher Dragone |
| Curator | Victoria Tokarowski |
| Website | racingmuseum.org |
Coordinates: 43°04′35″N 73°46′24″W / 43.0763°N 73.7734°W
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Avenue near Saratoga race course, at which time inductions into the hall of fame began. Each spring, following the tabulation of the final votes, the announcement of new inductees is made, usually during Kentucky Derby Week in early May. The actual inductions are held in mid-August during the Saratoga race meeting.
The Hall of Fame's nominating committee selects eight to ten candidates from among the four Contemporary categories (male horse, female horse, jockey and trainer) to be presented to the voters. Changes in voting procedures that commenced with the 2010 candidates allow the voters to choose multiple candidates from a single Contemporary category, instead of a single candidate from each of the four Contemporary categories. For example, in 2016, two female horses (Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta) were inducted at the same time.
The museum also houses a large collection of art, artifacts, and memorabilia that document the history of horse racing from the eighteenth century to the present.
Under current rules, a horse must have been retired for a minimum of five full calendar years to be eligible for the hall of fame. Thoroughbreds remain eligible between five and 25 calendar years following their final racing year. Thoroughbreds retired for more than 25 calendar years become eligible through the Historic Review Committee. In the early years, inductions were made exclusively through historical review. In 1955, a group of 9 horses from the earliest years of the American turf were inducted. The 1956 class included 11 horses that raced around the turn of the century, while the 1957 class included 10 horses that raced up to the mid-thirties. Since then, the classes have been significantly smaller as the inductions shifted to more contemporary horses.
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