by Keith Gisser, for Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — The newest Northfield Park Wall of Fame class has been announced, and they will be honored at an awards dinner on Thursday, April 7, in Lady Luck’s Clubhouse Restaurant.

In addition to honoring the Wall inductees and the winners of a number of other established awards, a silent auction to benefit the Northfield Horsemen’s Emergency Relief Fund will be held. Gift baskets, merchandise and breedings to stallions Village Jolt, Cam’s Card Shark and Nuclear Breeze are just several of the items being offered. A new recurring memorial award, The Willie C. Banks, Jr. Ideal Employee, will be bestowed upon long-time Northfield and industry executive Tom Barry.

The Wall of Fame inductees are:

Tye Loy: A fixture at Northfield since the 1980s, Loy trained 2009 Courageous Lady champ Sand E Fiftyfive for this year’s Distinguished Owner, Bill Sanders. He also has won three Ohio Sires Stakes titles, two with Sand Squaw and one with Sand Bounce. Having won more than 1,100 races as a driver, he is approaching the 1,000 win mark as a trainer. Loy regularly donates time to horsemen’s relief efforts, including the annual Northfield benefit auction, appropriately being held on the night of his induction.

Elmer Moody: A 39-year employee of Northfield’s Security Department, Elmer Moody spent the last 23 as Director until his untimely death in December 2009 at 67. Moody came to Northfield with 15 years experience as a Sergeant with the Walton Hills Police Department. He was a graduate of the FBI Academy, Quantico, Va., and Western Reserve Police Academy. One of only three Northfield department heads ever to receive the “Excellence in Management” award, Moody was loyal and hard-working, taking on the toughest assignments. He loved Northfield to the depths of his soul, showing a remarkable dedication to the track, and respected horsemen, employees and fans alike.

Martin Wollam: Wollam won Northfield’s President’s Award, given only twice, in 2002 for assisting horseman Rusty Hopper when he was seriously injured in a racing incident. He later trained several horses for Wall of Famer Don McKirgan when the latter fell ill in 2003. Best known as a trainer (more than 1,500 wins since the USTA started keeping that statistic), he went over the 1,000 driving win mark late in 2009. Wollam served as private trainer for prominent Sahbra Farms in the 1990s, conditioning Striking Sahbra at two and three. He also trained Full Count, now a top Ohio stallion; Ohio Sires champ C’mon Ashley; and Wall of Fame finalist Cam’s Valentine. Marty’s wife, Patricia, and son, Miles, are actively involved in racing, as is son-in-law Al Manke III.

Dream Of Glory: This year’s equine honoree, trotter Dream Of Glory, was bred and campaigned by father-son team Leo (Distinguished Owner, 1993) and trainer-driver Pius (Wall of Fame, 1995) Soehnlen. Dream Of Glory was undefeated at Northfield in five lifetime starts, including four in a row at age three, all for purses over $10,000. At three, he also won the Old Oaken Bucket at Delaware, Ohio. He went on to earn nearly $500,000 in his career, becoming a world champion at five and winning 50 of 86 lifetime starts with a mark of 1:57. After retiring, he became the dominant trotting sire in Ontario. Dream Of Glory won divisional honors at three, four and five and was enshrined in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1993, a year after his death.

For information on the Wall of Fame banquet, contact Amy Halsey at 330.467.4101, ext. 204, or ahalsey@northfieldpark.com.