Tony Morgan elected to Ohio Hall of Fame

Tony Morgan, the second winningest driver in the history of harness racing, has been elected as the 48th member of the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame by a vote of the members of the Ohio Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association.

Morgan, 63, finished the year with 16,932 career wins which is second on the all-time list to Dave Palone and with $138.2 million in career earnings.

He was born in Troy, Ohio and began his career at the tender age of 13 when he drove in an amateur race at his hometown fairgrounds.

His first trip to the winner’s circle came on May 13, 1973, when he piloted Peachakona to victory in a matinee race at Celina, Ohio.

Morgan emerged in the early ’90s as one of the top drivers on the Chicago racing circuit and for three consecutive campaigns (1995-97), he was the leading dash-winning driver in North America.

In 1996, his total of 853 wins broke the all-time single season record set by Walter Case Jr.

Morgan shifted his base of operations to the state of Delaware in the fall of 2006. That year, he became the second driver in the history of the sport to pass the 1,000-win plateau for a single year and captured his fourth North American dash crown. He added a fifth victory title in 2008 when he piloted 961 winners.

He was the recipient of the Driver of the Year trophy from Harness Tracks of America four times (1996, 1997, 2002 and 2006).

Morgan will be honored at the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association’s annual banquet on Saturday, January 15 at the Polaris Hilton in Columbus.

by Jay Wolf, for the Little Brown Jug