National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

08/31/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended our Travers Eve Wine & Cheese event!

And thank you to our in-kind sponsor Mazzone Hospitality

08/29/2026

Happy birthday to Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, a member of the class of 1995. Bailey won on his first career mount, guiding a horse named Fetch to victory at Sunland Park in New Mexico in 1974. That win launched a remarkable career that included 5,893 wins, seven Eclipse Awards, two wins in each of the Triple Crown races, 15 Breeders’ Cup victories, and four Dubai World Cup wins. The son of a Texas dentist, Bailey began riding quarter horses at the age of 12. The bulk of his greatest achievements began in the early 1990s, when he burst upon the national scene with victories in the 1991 Preakness and Belmont aboard Hansel. Bailey won his first Kentucky Derby with Sea Hero in 1993 and again won the Run for the Roses with Grindstone in 1996. He won his second Preakness in 2000 aboard Red Bullet and his second Belmont in 2003 with Empire Maker. Bailey’s 15 Breeders’ Cup wins include five editions of the Classic. He won the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Arcangues at odds of 133-1. Bailey won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey each year from 1995 through 1997 and then four more years in a row from 2000 through 2003. He topped all North American riders in wins each year from 1995 through 1997 and again from 2000 through 2003. Bailey rode Hall of Fame member Cigar to 15 of his 16 consecutive wins from 1994 through 1996. He also rode Hall of Famer Skip Away and standouts such as Medaglia d’Oro, Street Cry, Captain Steve, Saint Liam, Concern, Black Tie Affair, and Banshee Breeze, among others. Bailey retired in 1996 with earnings of more than $296 million and a record 216 Grade 1 wins. Happy birthday, Jerry!

Credit: NYRA Photo

08/29/2026

Happy birthday to Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, a member of the class of 2008. After competing as a professional rodeo bull rider for more than a decade, Texas native Nafzger moved into the training of thoroughbreds. He saddled his first winner, Li’l Bessie in 1971 at Santa Fe Downs and secured his first stakes winner that year. Nineteen years later, Nafzger won the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic with Unbridled. The c**t was voted the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male for 1990, and Nafzger was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer. Unbridled also won the Florida Derby, Deputy Minister Handicap, and the What a Pleasure Stakes. With James Tafel’s homebred Street Sense, Nafzger became the first trainer to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby with the same horse. Street Sense won the 2006 Juvenile and was the Eclipse Award winner for Champion 2-Year-Old Male. Six months later, he gave Nafzger his second Derby victory, then went on to win the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga. The Travers came a week after Nafzger won the Alabama Stakes with Lady Joanne, making Nafzger the sixth trainer since 1902 to win the Alabama and Travers in the same summer. Nafzger also trained champion Banshee Breeze, a five-time Grade 1 winner, including the Alabama, Spinster, and Go for Wand. Nafzger also won the Travers in 2000 with Unshaded. Overall, Nafzger won 1,130 races with purse earnings of $52,725,939. He trained 78 stakes winners. Happy birthday, Carl!

Credit: Mike Kane/Museum Collection

08/28/2026

Happy Travers Stakes week! The 157th running of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, known as the Midsummer Derby, takes place Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Named in honor of the track’s first president, William Travers, the inaugural Travers in 1864 was won by Hall of Famer Kentucky, who was partially owned by the race’s namesake.

Three owners share the record with five wins in the Travers. The Dwyer Brothers Stable won the race in 1881 (Hall of Famer Hindoo), 1883 (Barnes), 1886 (Inspector B), 1888 (Sir Dixon), and 1890 (Sir John); George D. Widener, Jr. won it in 1939 (Hall of Famer Eight Thirty), 1950 (Lights Up), 1951 (Battlefield), 1962 (Jaipur), and 1963 (Crewman); and Paul Mellon’s Rokeby Stable won it in 1964 (Quadrangle), 1969 (Hall of Famer Arts and Letters), 1972 (Key To The Mint), 1987 (Java Gold), and 1993 (Sea Hero).

Mellon, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013 as a Pillar of the Turf, gifted his Travers trophies to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The trophies are pictured here with a portrait of Arts and Letters in the background (Arts and Letters won the 100th running of the Travers in 1969).

Additionally, Mellon gifted the Museum a bronze sculpture of 1993 Kentucky Derby and Travers winner Sea Hero, which resides in the paddock at Saratoga Race Course.

Credit: Brien Bouyea photos

08/27/2026

Stop by the Museum before the Travers Stakes for our Saturday Morning Social!

The Museum will offer free admission and there will be complimentary coffee and doughnuts courtesy of Stewart’s Shops and water courtesy of Saratoga Spring Water. The morning's programming will include a handicapping seminar at 10 a.m., analyzing the day’s Saratoga Race Course card, including the featured 157th running of the Travers Stakes. Authors Brien Bouyea and Michael Veitch will be on hand to sign copies of their book 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨: 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙖'𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝘿𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙮 and artist Greg Montgomery will sign copies of his 2026 Travers Stakes poster. Additionally, we will be offering demos for our Equine Eyes experience for interested visitors.

Thank you to Discover Saratoga for supporting our Saturday Morning Socials!

08/27/2026

Congrats to Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who won his 6,000th career race on Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course!

Congratulations to Hall of Famer Javier Castellano on 6,000 career wins! 🙌

He reached the incredible milestone aboard STARSHIP LIZZY in today’s last race at Saratoga Race Course!

08/24/2026

Kick off Travers Stakes weekend with this wine and cheese event on Travers Eve! 🍷

Enjoy refreshments in the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Courtyard with fellow Museum members and racing enthusiasts. The event will feature a Travers Stakes poster signing with artist Greg Montgomery and a signing of The Travers: Saratoga's Midsummer Derby with authors Brien Bouyea and Michael Veitch. Special thank you to in-kind sponsor Mazzone Hospitality!

Registration is required for members and non-members- sign up here: https://1049a.blackbaudhosting.com/1049a/Travers-Wine-and-Cheese

The non-member ticket cost can be credited to a purchase of a museum membership that evening!

08/24/2026

08/23/2026

Experience a Museum tour with Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito!

On Wednesday, August 26 at 11 a.m., Hall of Famer Nick Zito will lead an exclusive tour at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. On this tour, Zito will discuss some of his career highlights and guests will get a chance to ask him questions throughout the experience. These one-of-a-kind tours last one hour and include a showing of the Museum’s signature film, What It Takes: Journey to the Hall of Fame.

Nick Zito has won more than 2,000 races in his career, including the Kentucky Derby and Belmont twice each, the Preakness, Travers, and numerous other Grade 1 events. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Tickets are available here: https://1049a.blackbaudhosting.com/1049a/Hall-of-Fame-Tour-26Aug2026

Credit: NYRA Photo