Goshen Historic Track Concludes 2025 Race Season with New York State County Fair Finals
Photo by Adam Ramli
Goshen Historic Track, the world’s oldest active harness racing track, closed out its thrilling 2025 summer racing season on Sunday, August 31st, with the New York State County Fair Finals. The races showcased eight competitive races for both 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters. It was a fitting conclusion to the track’s 115th season that began on July 4 with the first leg of county fair racing throughout the state. Enthusiastic Independence Day crowds were treated to exciting races on great track conditions and in beautiful weather. A cornerstone of harness racing, the New York Sire Stakes program continues to set the standard for in-state breeding and racing initiatives, proudly recognized as the oldest program of its kind in the country.
Grand Circuit Weekend, at the celebrated half-mile oval, also featured divisions of the New York Excelsior Series, Landmark Stakes, and a spirited Billings Amateur Drivers Trot. Sunday’s program brought even more excitement with additional Landmark Stakes, Excelsior divisions, and the fan-favorite Hall of Fame Invitational. The race welcomed legendary Hall of Fame drivers David Miller, Wally Hennessey, Dave Palone, Yannick Gingras, Tim Tetrick, Jimmy Takter, and 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Chris Ryder, alongside standout driver Lauren Harmon.
Spectators packed the grandstand and rail throughout the weekend. Visitors also had the opportunity to purchase Goshen Historic Track merchandise from the Auxiliary, an organization dedicated to “preserving the tradition.”
Harness Racing 2026
- Friday, July 3, 2026 – New York County Fair Races
- Saturday, July 4, 2026 – NY Sire Stakes Pacers, 3-Year-Old Landmarks, & C.K.G. Billings
- Sunday, July 5, 2026 – NY Sire Stakes Trotters, 2-Year-Old Landmarks, & Hall of Fame Trot
- Sunday, May 17, 2026 – Car Show and Food Truck Festival
- Sunday, September 20, 2026 – 4th Annual Junk in the Trunk
**Dates subject to change**
Our 2025 Season
Great job by the marshalls entertaining the crowd at the County Fair Finals!
Next Event
Beautiful photos from the 8/31/25 County Fair Races by Renée Casavant.
See more at https://creekdreams.pixieset.com/goshenfairfinals/
8th Annual Car Show
Another great Car Show and Food Truck Festival is in the books. Thank you to everyone who came out to make the 8th Annual Orange County Volunteer Fire Police Car Show and Food Truck Festival such a huge success!
It was a beautiful day. Great weather. Great turnout. About 3600 people visited the Track to enjoy 189 magnificent vehicles of all makes and eras. There certainly was a lot of nostalgia, good times, and good eating. 17 food trucks showed up offering a wide array of treats: savory, sweet, popcorn, and beverages. The Auxiliary of GHT had their wheel of chance and some amazing baskets to raffle off, all to benefit Goshen Historic Track. Also represented were: Nam Knights of Orange County, Hudson Valley Honor Flight, New York State Troopers, and the Department of Corrections. We would like to give a special shout-out to Atlas Security Services Inc. for providing security at this great event. We are so appreciative of this wonderful crew!
Stay tuned for our next big events: The Chicken Dinner fundraiser on June 7 and the Grand Circuit Races July 4-6, 2025. See you at the races!
Photography courtesy of Jill Omen
Photography courtesy of Jill Omen
Last Year At Goshen Historic Track
The New York County Fair Finals Close Our 114th Season
Our 114th racing season came to an exciting close with the New York County Fair Finals. It was a gray day to begin with, but just in time for post time, the sun came out to warm the enthusiasm of the crowds who came to see the finale of a series of non-pari-mutuel harness racing events that had been hosted at 19 county fairs across the state. These races feather eligible two-and three-year-old New York-bred Standardbred horses. There were 8 races in all. Among the day’s standouts were:
- Drama Club – 1:58.2 – 3-year-old pacing filly who went undefeated in the county fair races and final.
- Georgia Time – 2:01.0 – 2-year-old trotting filly who was also undefeated.
- Ms. Titan – 3-year-old trotting filly who was the 2-year-old county fair champion and repeated this year as the 3-year-old champion.
Look around you! Thanks to Track photographer Adam Ramli, you can get a 360o driver’s eye view of the races!
Taking the lead is Drama Club, 3TP, bringing a close to the NY County Fair Finals as the winner in the eighth race. • Photo by Adam Ramli
Goshen’s Great American Weekend had another reason to celebrate!
Goshen, NY • July 7th, 2024
Between the New York County Fair Races on July 5th • The NY Sire Stakes Pacers and 3-Year-Old Landmarks & C.K.G. Billings races on the 6th • The NY Sire Stakes Trotters and 2-Year-Old Landmarks & Hall of Fame Trot on July 7th, Goshen Historic Track was the place to be. Sure, it was rainy at times and always very hot, but the historic Harriman Stadium provided ample shade to the crowds who enjoyed a total of 28 races over the three days.
We’ll see you at Post time on September 1st!
Race #2, July 5, 2024. Off To The Start Track photography by Adam Ramli • Race photos are available
Goshen Historic Track’s 114th season gets off to a great start
Goshen, NY • July 5th, 2024
Eligible two and three year-old New York bred Standardbred horses were the stars of the show. The 10 races at the historic track showcased trotters and pacers from all over over New York State as part of the New York County Fair series. The races provided thrills galore for the crowds. The Grand Circuit Races at Goshen Historic Track are always a highlight of Goshen’s Great American Weekend, Orange County’s premier celebration of the Fourth of July.
For up-to-dare race results visit the USTA website. Click on “Fairs”.
We hope to see you at Post time, rain or shine!
Race #2, July 5, 2024. Slafko wins! Track photography by Adam Ramli • Race photos are available
In Memory of Geri Schwarz
She made the tradition of Harness Racing come alive
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Geri Schwarz, Goshen Historic Track’s official photographer since 1998. She was a treasure, not just to us, but the entire harness racing industry. Over the years, Geri’s shots of Standardbred racing action, and behind-the-scenes activities, graced the pages and websites of countless media outlets. In 2014, she earned the Monticello/Goshen USTA Award in appreciation of her exceptional track photography.
We cherish memories of Geri always being at the finish line and at The Winners’ Circle, photographing the winners after every race. She was more comfortable behind a camera than in front of one, so we are very fortunate to have this picture of Geri in her element and, as you can see, very happy to be there.
Geri Schwarz at Goshen Historic Track • Photo by Adam Ramli