Keith Waples to be honored with 2022 Neville Award

The late Keith Waples, driver of the 1972 Little Brown Jug Champion Strike Out, will be honored as the 2022 Joseph Neville Memorial Award winner by the Little Brown Jug and the Delaware County Fair.

Waples, generally regarded as one of the greatest horsemen in the history of harness racing, was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (1973), and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1978) and the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame (1987).

He started his driving career at the age of 12 and ‘retired’ from driving at the age of 81. His records show more than 3,200 driving wins, that number is surely a fraction of the true total given that statistics for a good part of his career weren’t recorded.

In 1972, Waples teamed up with fellow Canadian, trainer John Hayes, Sr., to capture the 27^th edition of the Jug with Strike Out. The chestnut colt erased the track record of his illustrious sire, Bret Hanover, and foiled Hilarious Way’s attempt for pacing’s triple crown.

Waples also guided Albert’s Star to an elimination victory in 1975.

Waples helped develop and operate a trio of Canadian tracks – Orangeville Raceway, Cloverdale Raceway (now Fraser Downs) and Sandown Park.

Keith Waples passed away in May 2021 at the age of 97.

by Jay Wolf, for the Little Brown Jug