Barry Lefkowitz, the immediate Past President of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), the current Chair of the Board, and the 2024 USHWA Member of the Year, has been appointed to a six-year term on the Screening Committee for harness racing’s Hall of Fame, a Committee which meets annually to determine what people reach the final ballot to try to achieve the sport’s ultimate honor, membership in the Hall of Fame.
The announcement was made by Michael Carter, the current President of USHWA.
Chapters of USHWA nominate candidates for the Hall in late spring, and all nominated candidates go before the Screening Committee, which meets on the traditional Hall of Fame weekend in early July, which is when Lefkowitz will be seated on the Committee. After the group’s deliberations and selections, the ballots for election are then distributed to USHWAns and members of the Hall, with the election process culminating in those having received 75% of the yes-no votes as the newest class of the Hall.
Barry Lefkowitz received an early education in a master class in harness racing publicity centering around Monticello Raceway in the Catskills of New York, then worked at Jackson Raceway (MI), Roosevelt Raceway in his native New York City, Scioto Downs (OH), Batavia Downs (NY), and Windsor Raceway (Ontario, Canada). All of these appointments gave him a solid knowledge of the true “stars” of the various regions.
As first Treasurer and then President of USHWA, Barry was a spearhead in the Association’s financial rejuvenation, reaching out to horsemen throughout North America to assist in keeping the annual Dan Patch Awards Banquet as a major event on the harness calendar. He continued growing in the sport’s history by leading a two-year pursuit which culminated in gathering all of the available information about the horses and humans picked as top of their divisions, including Trotter-Pacer-Horse of the Year, for every year of racing since awards were inaugurated in 1948.
“Barry has a solid grounding in all of the major human contributors to harness racing over close to eight decades,” said President Carter, “and he figures to be a substantial informed voice during the important discussions about those to be in line to receive the sport’s ultimate accolade, membership in the Hall Of Fame.”
The United States Harness Writers Association is the leading group of communicators about the Standardbred horse. USHWA conducts the official annual balloting for the sport's most prestigious honors: induction to the Hall of Fame and Communicators Hall of Fame, along with the selection of the Horse of the Year, Trotter and Pacer of the Year, and the leading divisional horses of each season. Each year USHWA hosts the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, honoring the best and brightest performers in North American harness racing. This banquet is the Association’s principal source of funding, and with support from the harness racing and breeding industries, USHWA is able to host the banquet at a world-class facility in a world-class manner.
-release (U.S. Harness Writers Association)