Grove City, OH – The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association has awarded the prestigious Maynard and Stella Hagemeyer Significant Contribution Award to track announcer Roger Huston for 2025.
Now in his 67th year behind the mic, Huston has announced races all over the world with 184,841 calls to date. He has served as the announcer for the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair for 58 years, with his favorite being the 2015 edition when Wiggle It Jiggleit defeated Lost For Words. He also cites Falcon Seelster setting a world record at Delaware in 1985 and Dragon’s Lair defeating Nihilator to win a Breeders Crown at The Meadows in 1984 as some of his most memorable calls.
“I have never worked a day in my life,” Huston said. “Every race is the most important race in harness racing for that owner, driver, trainer, and caretaker. I have been criticized that I call every race like it’s the Jug, but any given race may be as close to racing in the Jug that the connections have, so they deserve the best of me.”
Inducted into the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2001, Huston is arguably the sport’s foremost race-caller and has long been known as the voice of The Meadows. In September, he notified Little Brown Jug officials that he wanted to step back and call fewer races during Jug week beginning in 2025. Previously, he had called all 54 Jugettes and 57 straight Little Brown Jug races. Since 1967, more than 4,200 races have been conducted at the Delaware County Fair, almost all of them with Huston behind the mic.
“I just want to make it clear, I am not retiring,” the 83-year-old Huston said at the time of his announcement. “I just felt it was the right thing to do, to give another young man the opportunity to live out his dream.”
As 2025 came to a close, Huston said he was honored to be named the recipient of the Maynard and Stella Hagemeyer Significant Contribution Award.
“When I began announcing in 1960, I worked many county fairs with Stella Hagemeyer. It seemed like everywhere I went, Stella was working as clerk of the course,” he said. “Those were the days when we had eligibility papers for horses that had to be filled out by hand, and entries were taken over the phone since there were no computers for entries. To understand the process, I always arrived early to work with Stella, recording payments, driver changes, and scratches. Stella was the best at her job and as a person as well, and to earn the award named in her honor means as much to me as any other award.”
The Maynard and Stella Hagemeyer Significant Contribution Award is given to an individual for significant lifelong contributions to Ohio harness racing. The recipient must possess a passion and advocacy for Ohio harness racing. The award is based on the importance of educating and involving local and state legislators in the preservation and promotion of the harness racing industry.
Huston will be honored at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday (Jan. 10) at the Renaissance Columbus-Westerville in Westerville, Ohio.