National Museum of Racing readies for induction ceremonies

The National Museum of Racing will induct its 2011 Hall of Fame class Friday

at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion. The ceremony is free and

open to the public. Additionally, the inductions will be televised on HRTV and

streamed live on the Internet at

www.racingmuseum.org. Celebrity chef and Thoroughbred owner Bobby Flay will

be giving the keynote address and broadcaster Randy Moss will serve as the

event's master of ceremonies.

The 2011 Hall of Fame class is comprised of Thoroughbreds Duke of Magenta,

Open Mind, Safely Kept and Sky Beauty; jockey Shelby "Pike" Barnes; and trainers

Matthew Byrnes and Jerry Hollendorfer.

One of the greatest sons of the legendary sire Lexington, Duke of Magenta was

foaled in 1875 at the famed Woodburn Stud near Lexington, Kentucky. Owned by

George L. Lorillard and trained by Robert Wyndham Walden, Duke of Magenta was a

light bay standing 16 hands. He broke his maiden in the Flash Stakes at Saratoga

in July of 1877 and won four of seven starts as a two-year-old, while finishing

second in the other three. Foreshadowing the greatness to come, Duke of Magenta

closed out his 1877 season with three consecutive wins.

In 1878, Duke of Magenta enjoyed one of the most prolific three-year-old

campaigns in the history of the American turf, winning 11 of 12 starts,

including such marquee events as the Preakness, Withers, Belmont, Travers,

Kenner, and Jerome. His only loss on the year occurred when he finished third in

the Jersey Derby when it was reported he spiked a fever. Three weeks after his

defeat in the Jersey Derby, Duke of Magenta appeared at Saratoga for the

Travers. The favorite in the race was Spartan, the winner of the Jersey Derby,

but Duke of Magenta was back in top form and won convincingly. The Travers

marked the beginning of an eight-race win streak for Duke of Magenta.

Duke of Magenta was sold at the conclusion of his three-year-old season by

Lorillard to his brother, Pierre Lorillard, who sent him to race in England.

Those plans, however, never came to fruition. Duke of Magenta became ill on the

voyage and was sent home. He never raced again.

Duke of Magenta finished his career with a record of 15-3-1 from 19 starts

and earnings of $45,412. Since he accomplished the feat in 1878, only Hall of

Famers Man o' War and Native Dancer have won the Preakness, Withers, Belmont,

and Travers.

Open Mind, bred in New Jersey by Due Process Stables, won 12 of 19 career

starts. Owned by Eugene Klein and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Open Mind was named

Champion two-year-old filly of 1988 when she won four of six starts, including

the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

At three, Open Mind won eight of 11 starts, including the New York Filly

Triple Crown (the Acorn [G1], Mother Goose [G1] and Coaching Club American Oaks

[G1]), as well as the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Alabama S. (G1). Her victory in the

Alabama was her 10th consecutive win, seven of which were Grade 1 races. She

repeated as her division champion at three and concluded her career with nine

graded wins among her 11 stakes victories and earnings of $1,844,372.

Safely Kept, bred in Maryland by Mr. and Mrs. David Hayden, raced four years,

won 24 of 31 starts and accumulated earnings of $2,194,206. Owned by Barry

Weisbord and Richard Santulli's Jayeff B. Stable and trained by Alan Goldberg,

Safely Kept won four of her five starts as a two-year-old in 1988 and then took

eight of her nine races at age three to earn the Eclipse Award as champion

sprinter. Among her wins during that campaign were the Test S. (G1), the Genuine

Risk H. (G2) and the Prioress S. (G2).

At four, Safely Kept won eight of 10 races with seven of those victories in

stakes events. She defeated a star-studded field in the 1990 Breeders' Cup

Sprint (G1). That victory, over stars such as Black Tie Affair (Ire) and Dayjur,

also avenged her only loss from the prior year, as she defeated defending

champion Dancing Spree by 9 1/2 lengths.

Safely Kept concluded her career with five wins in seven starts as a

five-year-old in 1991, including her third victory in the Genuine Risk, Maryland

Million Distaff and Garden State Breeders' Cup S. (G3).

Sky Beauty, bred in Kentucky by Sugar Maple Farm, won 15 of 21 starts and had

purse earnings of $1,336,000 in her four-year career. Owned by Georgia Hoffman

and trained by Allen Jerkens, Sky Beauty posted a five-race win streak at age

three in 1993, which included the New York Filly Triple Crown and the Alabama.

At four, Sky Beauty posted another five-race win streak, including a

10-length romp in the Go for Wand (G1). She also added Grade 1 wins in the

Hempstead and the Ruffian. Sky Beauty had a brief campaign at five, adding her

second victory in the Vagrancy. Nine of Sky Beauty's 15 wins were in Grade 1

races.

Born in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, in 1871, Barnes became a star jockey as a

teenager. In 1888, Barnes led all North American riders with 206 wins, becoming

the first jockey to top 200 wins in a year. His 1888 campaign is even more

remarkable considering his closest pursuer, George Covington, rode just 95

winners. Adding further context to Barnes' exceptional year were the comparative

win totals of future Hall of Fame jockeys Jimmy McLaughlin (72), Edward

“Snapper" Garrison (71) and Isaac Murphy (37). Barnes also had the highest win

percentage that year, booting home the winner on 32.9 percent of his mounts.

Barnes secured his status as an elite rider with his star-making performance

in the inaugural Futurity in 1888. Staged by the Coney Island Jockey Club at

Sheepshead Bay, the Futurity was the richest sporting event to date in America,

paying an unheard-of $40,900 to the winner. Aboard the favorite Proctor Knott,

Barnes battled future Hall of Famer Salvator and jockey Tony Hamilton in the

six-furlong sprint for two-year-olds. Barnes and Proctor Knott dug in during the

stretch and secured a half-length victory in one of the most notable races of

the 19th century.

Barnes repeated as North America's leading jockey in 1889 with 170 wins (25.8

percent) from 661 mounts. That year, Barnes won the Travers aboard Long Dance

and the Champagne with June Day.

In 1890, Barnes piloted Burlington to victories in the Belmont Stakes and the

Brooklyn Derby. That summer, he also captured the Alabama Stakes with champion

Sinaloa II. He added another major score in 1891 when he rode the standout Tenny

to victory in the Brooklyn Derby.

Barnes rode for several of the top owners of his day, including James Ben Ali

Haggin, Marcus Daly and Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin. Other major victories for

Barnes included the First Special (1891), Flash Stakes (1888), Great Western

Stakes (1888), Hyde Park Stakes (1888), Latonia Derby (1888), Latonia Oaks

(1889), Kenner Stakes (1889), Second Special (1890), Sheridan Stakes (1890), St.

Leger Stakes (1888), and the United States Hotel Stakes (1890).

Barnes began to fade from the scene after 1891 and died at age 37 in

Columbus, Ohio, in 1908. In a letter to the National Museum of Racing, Hall of

Fame trainer Fred Burlew ranked Barnes as one of the top five African-American

jockeys in the history of the sport.

Byrnes began his association with Thoroughbred racing as an exercise rider

before becoming an accomplished jockey. However, it was his skill as a

conditioner of racehorses that garnered Byrnes lasting acclaim.

After his days as a rider ended because he had trouble making weight, Byrnes

began training under the tutelage of future Hall of Famer Jacob Pincus. Byrnes

was then hired by famed sportsman Pierre Lorillard to become the head trainer

for the Master of Rancocas stable. Byrnes quickly made a name for himself as a

trainer when he took over the conditioning of future Hall of Famer Parole in

1881. As an eight-year-old in 1881, Parole won 12 of 24 starts for Byrnes and

followed that with 15 wins and 18 other in-the-money finishes among 42 starts in

1882 and 1883.

In 1885, Byrnes won the Suburban Handicap with Pontiac. Byrnes also won the

Suburban in 1890 with future Hall of Famer Salvator and in 1892 with Montana. In

1887, Lorillard stepped away from the sport and Byrnes began his association

with James Ben Ali Haggin's powerful stable. Byrnes guided Haggin's mighty

Salvator to a spectacular career mark of 16-1-1 from 19 starts. While under the

care of Byrnes, Salvator set American speed records for one mile and 1 1/4 miles

as a four-year-old in 1890.

At the same time he was training Salvator, Byrnes also enjoyed tremendous

success with the great mare Firenze, another future Hall of Famer. From 1886

through 1891, Firenze won 47 races for Byrnes and was in the money 77 times in

82 starts. Firenze regularly defeated males, including wins over Hall of Famer

Hanover at three distances, and two wins over Hall of Famer Kingston, the

Thoroughbred that won the most races in the history of the sport.

When Haggin got out of the Thoroughbred business in 1891, Byrnes went to work

for Marcus Daly. For Daly, Byrnes trained a number of quality horses, including

Tammany, Montana, Senator Grady, and Scottish Chieftain, the 1897 Belmont Stakes

winner. Daly died in 1900 and Byrnes called it a career as a trainer. Byrnes

then bought a farm opposite Monmouth Park in New Jersey. A few years later,

Byrnes sold the farm and moved to California to work as a bloodstock advisor. In

his later years, Byrnes returned to New Jersey and often attended the races at

Saratoga. He died in Asbury Park, New Jersey, in 1933 at the age of 80.

Hollendorfer has been the most successful trainer in Northern California

since the mid-1980s. He won the training championship at every major Bay Area

meeting from 1986 through 2008, recording 37 straight titles at Bay Meadows and

32 consecutive crowns at Golden Gate Fields. Hollendorfer has also enjoyed

considerable success on the Southern California circuit and won a training title

at Arlington Park in 2001.

In 2010, Hollendorfer won five Grade 1 races: the Kentucky Oaks, Alabama and

Las Virgenes with champion Blind Luck; the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with Dakota

Phone; and the Gamely with Tuscan Evening (Ire). Hollendorfer ranked fourth in

earnings in 2010 with $9,307,328 and third in wins with 286. He was fifth in

earnings in 2009 ($7,309,169) and seventh in 2008 ($8,637,578). He was also

third in wins in both 2009 (273) and 2008 (282). Hollendorfer won a career-high

308 races in 2004 to finish third in the trainer standings.

Hollendorfer has ranked in the top 10 in wins for 24 consecutive years (1987

through 2010) and has been in the top 10 in earnings 12 times in his career.

Through 2010, Hollendorfer ranked fourth in all-time victories (5,863) and

eighth all-time in earnings ($119,141,280) among North American trainers. His

major wins include three runnings of the Kentucky Oaks and scores in the Santa

Anita H. (G1), Delaware H. (G2), Fleur de Lis (G2), Hollywood Futurity (G1) and

Haskell Invitational (G1).

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is located across from the

Saratoga Race Course on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs. Hours during the

Saratoga Race Meet are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Call 518-584-0400 for more

information.