JC / Railbird

NETWA Elects Inaugural HOF Class

The New England Turf Writers Association will honor the inaugural class of the New England Racing Hall of Fame at their awards dinner this July 7. The inductees are jockey Rudy Baez, who won 24 riding titles at Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park; thoroughbred owner and breeder Peter Fuller; the late James Moseley, who was chairman of Suffolk Downs and instrumental in the track’s 1992 reopening; the late Sam McCracken, a noted Boston Globe turf writer for 30 years; and Waquoit, the 1987 Massachusetts Handicap winner. A plaque bearing the inductees’ names will be hung in the Sports Museum of New England. Tickets to the dinner, which will be held at the Danversport Yacht Club, are $55 apiece. Call 617-568-3220 for more information.
Lowell Sun racing writer Paul Daley wonders if the New England Turf Writers “may have missed the boat” with their selections this year:

Don’t get me wrong. Each of the inductees, Waquoit, Baez, Fuller, Moseley and McCracken, fully deserve induction into the newly-created Hall of Fame and would have received their due quickly if not this year. That is not the issue.
But what about Rockingham Park’s Lou Smith, and jockeys Anthony DeSpirito and Carl Gambardella? Have we forgotten them so quickly?