Columbus, OH — In his “A Native Pennsylvania Industry with Deep Roots in History” story on the Standardbred Breeders Association of Pennsylvania website, Hanover Shoe Farms President & CEO Russell Williams, who is also president of the U.S. Trotting Association, describes the long, rich history of Pennsylvania Standardbred breeding that is unmatched by any other state in America.

Russell Williams describes the long, rich history of Pennsylvania Standardbred breeding that is unmatched by any other state in America. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

“The purpose of this note is simply to show the horse industry’s deep roots in our Commonwealth, which go deeper than most other industries here today, and to shine some light on early historical facts about Pennsylvania that even our elected officials in Harrisburg might not know,” explains Williams.

“World-class breeding farms, world-class tracks, and countless race meetings at tracks and county fairs across the Commonwealth during more than three centuries have made Pennsylvania famous down to the present day as a showpiece of American horse racing and breeding,” added Williams, the President & CEO of one of those “world-class breeding farms.”

In his historical narrative, Williams notes that “From the time of William Penn until 1750 there was a circular racetrack laid out on the public common near Race Street in Philadelphia. Running, trotting, and pacing races all were popular attractions there.”

He describes how “The twentieth and early twenty-first centuries fully established Pennsylvania as one of the preeminent centers of horse racing and breeding on the North American continent, but the modern history of our thriving horse industry is already well known, or should be.”

To read the complete story, click here.