| Jim Dennis | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Harness racing horse trainer and driver |
| Born | May 9, 1923 Rexburg, Idaho |
| Died | February 22, 2004 Solana Beach, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Career wins | 2,677 |
| Major racing wins | |
| Review Futurity American Trotting Classic | |
| Racing awards | |
| Harness Racing Hall of Fame (2002) | |
| Significant horses | |
| Adios Vic Sir Dalrae | |
Jim Dennis (May 9, 1923 – February 22, 2004) was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2002. [1]
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, occupied by a driver, although in Europe, jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters is also conducted.
The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is a museum in Goshen, New York. The museum collects and preserves the history of harness racing and serves as a hall of fame for The American Standardbred horse.
Dennis was born in Rexburg, Idaho. His father and five Uncles drove Standardbreds. Dennis drove his first winning horse at age 13. [2] Prior to his serving in the United States Air Force, Dennis considered a rodeo career. [3]
Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 25,484 at the 2010 census, up from 17,257 in 2000. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Fremont and Madison Counties. The city is home to Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-Idaho), a private institution operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodlines to 18th-century England. They are solid, well-built horses with good dispositions. In addition to harness racing, the Standardbred is used for a variety of equestrian activities — including horse shows and pleasure riding — particularly in the midwestern and eastern United States, and southern Ontario.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
One of the top horses Dennis drove was Sir Dalrae. [2] Sir Dalrae, who had been bred to trot, was the 1973 Harness Racing Horse of the Year. [4]
The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph). A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog. An extremely fast trot has no special name, but in harness racing, the trot of a Standardbred is faster than the gallop of the average non-racehorse, and has been clocked at over 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).
Dennis also drove Adios Vic. Adios Vic defeated Hall of Fame horse Bret Hanover four times. Dennis was a leading driver at Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceway plus Hollywood Park but also campaigned out of Chicago, Illinois from 1963 to 1971. By the time Dennis finished his harness racing career in 1991, he had won 2,677 races and the horses he had driven had earned 12.9 million dollars. [5]
Bret Hanover was an outstanding American Standardbred racehorse. He was one of only nine pacers to win harness racing's Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and won 62 of 68 starts. He was the first horse to be voted United States Harness Horse of the Year three times and remains the only pacer to have received that honor.
Roosevelt Raceway was a racetrack located in the town of Westbury in Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility. The harness racing facility operated from September 2, 1940 until July 15, 1988. It was the original home of the Messenger Stakes, part of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. The raceway hosted the event until it closed. It was also the first track to use the now universal "mobile starting gate". The operation was sold in 1984 on the condition it was to remain an operating racetrack, but the facilities deteriorated, attendance dropped off and the plant was no longer profitable. Roosevelt Raceway's closure was controversial.
Yonkers Raceway, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York, near the New York City border. It is owned by MGM Growth Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International.
Dennis died at his Solana Beach, California home on February 22, 2004. [6]
Solana Beach is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. The population was estimated at 13,444 in 2017, up from 12,867 at the 2010 U.S. Census.
