The class consists of champion Seabiscuit, jockey Chris McCarron, trainer Edward “Ned” Allard, owner and breeder Gil Campbell and reporter and handicapper Dave Wilson. The Hall of Fame was founded in 2005.
McCarron retired in 2002 as one of the most decorated jockeys in the history of thoroughbred racing. His career purse earnings of over $264,000,000 were at the time the most ever posted by a rider and he is one of just seven jockeys to have won more than 7,000 races. McCarron grew up in Dorchester, MA and his introduction to thoroughbred racing began on the backsides of both Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park. McCarron won the Eclipse Award as Champion Apprentice Jockey in 1974 and as a journeyman in 1980. He won the MassCap, Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes each on two occasions; in addition, he won nine Breeders’ Cup races, including five victories in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. His MassCap victory aboard Waquoit in 1987 is one of the most historic moments in New England racing history.
Allard began his training career in 1970 at Lincoln Downs and became one of the leading trainers in New England for the next two decades. Allard gained national attention in 1985, conditioning Eclipse Award-winning filly Mom’s Command for New England Racing Hall of Famer Peter Fuller. Since moving out of the region, Allard has continued to support New England racing, shipping his horses in on a regular basis. In 2008, he won the Mom’s Command Stakes at Suffolk Downs with Anofficerandalady. Over the course of his career, Allard has amassed approximately 2,600 wins, including 175 stakes, nearly half of which were at New England tracks.
