by Jay Wolf, assistant publicity director, The Little Brown Jug

Delaware, OH — Delaware County native Hugh A. Bell and Circleville, Ohio native Forrest Short are two of six Ohioans featured in the Driven To Win – The Heart and Soul of Harness Racing exhibit that will be on display in the Jugette Barn throughout the Delaware County (OH) Fair and Grand Circuit week (September 14-18).

The exhibit, presented by The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, salutes the drivers and trainers who enjoyed career success, but may not have gained fame on a nationwide level.

Bell was born in Bellepoint on July 27, 1902 and scored his first driving win at the age of 14 with Gypsy Girl at the 1916 Delaware County Fair in Powell. Bell, a former Ohio Welterweight Wrestling Champion, became one of the leading “catch drivers” on the tough Yonkers/Roosevelt Raceway circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. Bell’s greatest victory came in the 1958 Cane Futurity with Raider Frost and he finished his career with 1,688 career wins and lifetime earnings of $3.5 million.

World War I veteran Forrest Short, called “Pickaway County’s Gentleman of Harness Racing,” was a late starter in the Standardbred sport. He served in the Cavalry during World War I and was Pickaway County Auditor for 12 years before turning to training Standardbreds in 1947.

Among his favorite horses were Jerry Way, a heat winner in the 1960 Grandview Futurity and a starter in the Little Brown Jug; Irish Blackstone, Champaign County Futurity; and double-gaited world champion and 1958 “Ohio Horse of the Year” Steamin Demon. He also won the first race ever held at Scioto Downs, driving the pacer Raider Volo in 1959.

Short, who was born June 24, 1894, was killed in a racing accident in 1975 at Scioto Downs.

The other Ohio drivers featured in Driven To Win are Joe Lighthill (Deshler), Ervin Samples (Willshire), Colby Turner (Wilmington) and Lew Williams (Cadiz).