James Ben Ali Haggin

Louis Lee Haggin III, hailing from an illustrious racing family and a longtime fixture at Keeneland, died Mar. 5, according to Keeneland Tuesday. He was 88. A lifelong Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Haggin III managed his family's Sycamore Farm. A great, great grandson of legendary horseman James Ben Ali Haggin, who was also the founder of Elmendorf Farm, Haggin III's grandfather, Hal Price Headley, was among the founders of Keeneland. His father, Louis Lee Haggin II, served as the track's second president and subsequently its chairman. "Keeneland mourns the loss...

Keeneland's lawn debuted during the 1985 Fall meet in an era when American turf courses were just coming into vogue. According to a back issue of the track's media guide, through 2016 they had two names for their grass course. The Keeneland Course referred to the one with rail up, while the normal configuration with it down was called the Haggin Course. Named for Louis Lee Haggin II, who was not only Keeneland's President from 1940-1956, but the decade before had purchased the 550-acre Sycamore Farm in Woodford County. Serving...

The National Museum of Racing will induct the 2022 Hall of Fame class Friday, Aug. 5 at Fasig-Tipton. The event is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. Tom Durkin will serve as the master of ceremonies. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on the Museum website at racingmuseum.org. A stellar class of inductees comprises the 2022 ceremony, namely four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder (Henny Hughes); Hillsdale (Take Away), who is also the first Indiana-bred in the Hall of...

Eight new members have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, including Eclipse Award winners Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Tepin (Bernstein) in the contemporary category, both chosen in their first year of eligibility. The other members of the class of 2022 are divisional stalwarts Hillsdale (Take Away) and Royal Heroine (Ire) (Lypheor {GB}) and, via the Historic Review Committee, Classic-winning trainer Oscar White. Among the Pillars of the Turf, owner/breeding/official James Cox Brady, track announcer and official Marshall Cassidy and renowned owner/breeder James Ben Ali...