by John Pawlak, USTA marketing director

Columbus, OH — Nicole Kraft, author of the newly released book “100 Years in Harness,” will be autographing copies of her work at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame over the Independence Day holiday weekend.

Kraft will be on the Museum’s plaza, outside the main entrance to the Museum, between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, July 6.

The first 50 persons who purchase a copy will receive a reprint of one of the book’s outstanding historic photographs. In addition, five dollars of the purchase price at Goshen will benefit the Museum.

“100 Years in Harness,” published by the U.S. Trotting Association, is the first coffee table book compiled in the sport of harness racing. It showcases the beauty and historical significance of the sport of harness racing in the United States from 1900 through 1999, through the lenses of USTA photographers. Kraft’s narrative captures harness racing’s place in the burgeoning nation with images gleaned from the USTA archives, the most expansive collection of Standardbred photos in the world.

The book is organized in chapters that represent the decades of the 20th century, and features photos of famous horses and people of the time periods, and scenes and circumstances that show harness racing’s place in the growing nation.

Charles Leerhsen, author of Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, The Most Famous Horse in America, and an executive editor at Sports Illustrated, said of the book, “(It’s) an enchanting journey through one of America’s oldest and most beautiful sports. As soon as I finished, I wanted to start all over again. Put it on your list of essential sports books.”

Those who can’t visit the Harness Racing Museum this coming weekend can purchase “100 Years in Harness” for $24.95 online at http://shop.ustrotting.com, or by calling (877) 800-USTA (8782), ext. 2.