The late John Shirreffs, who trained Zenyatta throughout her Hall of Fame career; the late trainer Christophe Clement, who conditioned the winners of 286 graded stakes races; and champion sprinter Kona Gold headline the 11 new members elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame for 2026.
Shirreffs joins the late trainer Christophe Clement and Kona Gold in the Contemporary Category, earning the requisite votes from the nationwide voting panel for election. In the Historic Review Category, racehorses Gulch and Mongo and the late trainer David Whiteley were chosen by a committee vote. In the Pillars of the Turf Category, the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, Dr. Robert Copelan, Seth Hancock, G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and the late Joseph Widener received the necessary support from the selection committee.
Kona Gold, Clement and Shirreffs were chosen on the majority of ballots submitted (50 percent plus one vote is required for election). A total of 143 voters (92.8 percent) participated from the 154 eligible to cast ballots. In the Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf categories, 75 percent approval from the respective committees is required for election.
The 2026 Hall of Fame Class will be enshrined at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7 at Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs. The event will be aired live on the Museum website at racingmuseum.org. It is open to the public and free to attend. Renowned broadcaster Charlsie Cantey will serve as the master of ceremonies.
Kona Gold’s election comes after appearing on the final ballot nine times, including a run of seven straight through 2026. Clement appeared on the last eight ballots, while Shirreffs made his fifth straight and seventh overall.
Campaigned by his trainer Bruce Headley and co-owners Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh and others, Kona Gold raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He earned the Eclipse Award for champion sprinter in 2000, the same year he set the Churchill Downs track record for 6 furlongs in 1:07.77 winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Kona Gold also set a track record for 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita Park and won 10 graded stakes. Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis rode Kona Gold to each of his 14 wins, including multiple editions of the Grade 2 Bing Crosby Handicap, Grade 2 Potrero Grande Breeders’ Cup Handicap and Grade 3 El Conejo Handicap. Kona Gold made five consecutive appearances in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Shirreffs, who passed away at the age of 80 in February, trained the winners 113 graded stakes with purse earnings of $58,581,916. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2005 with 50-1 longshot Giacomo and later became the conditioner of the legendary Zenyatta. Shirreffs trained the four-time Eclipse Award winner to 19 consecutive victories, including 13 Grade 1s, from 2007 through 2010. Named Horse of the Year in 2010 and champion older female each year from 2008 through 2010, Zenyatta’s Grade 1 wins included the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in 2008 and the Classic the following year. In 2009, Shirreffs also won the Ladies’ Classic with Life Is Sweet, becoming the first trainer to win both Classics in the same year.
At the Grade 1 level, Shirreffs won five editions of both the Santa Margarita Handicap (1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010) and Vanity Handicap (1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010); three runnings of the Lady’s Secret (2008, 2009, 2010), Santa Anita Derby (2007, 2017, 2020), and Clement L. Hirsch (2008, 2009, 2010); and two renewals of the American Oaks (2010, 2011), Apple Blossom (2008, 2010), and Santa Maria (2000, 2003). Shirreffs trained nine horses that earned more than $1 million: Baeza, Express Train, Giacomo, Gormley, Hollywood Story, Life Is Sweet, Manistique, Tiago, and Zenyatta.
Clement (1965-2025), who passed away at age 59 last May, won 2,576 races with purse earnings of $184,127,449 million (12th all time) in a career that spanned from 1991 through 2025. He trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, winner of four straight Grade 1s on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, who also won consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2014 and 2015. Clement won 286 graded stakes. His Grade 1 wins included multiple editions of the Beverly D. (2001, 2007, 2008), Del Mar Oaks (2007, 2013), Diana Handicap (2003, 2015), Manhattan Handicap (2001, 2009, 2010), Man o’ War (2009, 2010), Turf Mile (2010, 2011), and Sword Dancer (1999, 2011, 2021, 2022, 2024), which was renamed the Christophe Clement Turf.
Clement trained 22 horses who earned $1 million or more. Other Grade 1 winners trained by Clement included Discreet Marq, Far Bridge, Forbidden Apple, Gufo, Mauralanka, Relaxed Gesture, Rutherienne, Voodoo Dancer, and Winchester, among others. Clement won the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Pizza Bianca.
Gulch, champion sprinter and winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 1988, posted a record of 13-8-3 from 32 starts with earnings of $3,095,521. Campaigned by Peter Brant and trained by Hall of Famers LeRoy Jolley (1986 through 1987) and D. Wayne Lukas (1988), Gulch won 11 graded stakes, including seven Grade 1s. He won Grade 1 races each year of his career, ranging in distances from 6 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.
A chestnut colt bred in Virginia by Marion duPont Scott, Mongo raced from 1961 through 1964 with a record of 22-10-4 from 46 starts and earnings of $820,766. Trained by Frank Bonsal for duPont Scott, Mongo was voted champion male turf horse in 1963. He won 16 stakes, including the prestigious Washington, D.C. International and two editions each of the United Nations Handicap, Trenton Handicap, and Diamond State Handicap. Mongo won races at nine tracks – Aqueduct, Atlantic City, Bowie, Delaware, Garden State, Hialeah, Laurel, Monmouth and Pimlico – and defeated Hall of Famers Carry Back, Gun Bow and Kelso twice each.
Whiteley, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 73, won 454 races with purse earnings of $11,837,823 in a career that spanned from 1970 through 1995. He won 45 graded stakes in his career and 62 total blacktype races. Whiteley trained Eclipse Award winners Revidere (champion 3-year-old filly in 1976), Hall of Famer Waya (champion older female in 1979) and Just a Game (champion female turf horse in 1980). He won the 1979 Belmont Stakes with Coastal, denying the Triple Crown hopes of Hall of Famer Spectacular Bid. Whiteley’s other top horses included Bailjumper, French Colonial, Highland Blade, Instrument Landing and Tiller.
Prince Khalid bin Abdullah was a native of Saudi Arabia who established Juddmonte Farms, which he developed into one of the world’s most accomplished breeding and racing operations. Juddmonte was recognized with five Eclipse Awards for outstanding breeder (1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009) and four Eclipse Awards for outstanding owner (1992, 2003, 2016, 2017).
Copelan, a native of Cincinnati, is a pioneer in the field of equine surgery and was one of the 11 founding members who established the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) in 1954. Copelan served as its president in 1973 and continued to participate on multiple AAEP committees throughout the years. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Copelan has mentored many who have worked with him. Dr. Copelan was among the pioneers of equine joint surgery in the 1960s at his hospital at Sunnyside Farm in Paris, Ky.
Hancock followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and took over the reins of historic Claiborne Farm in 1972 at the age of 23, following the death of his father, Arthur B. “Bull” Hancock, Jr., who in turn had taken over in the 1940s from his father, Arthur B. Hancock. He went on to lead Claiborne longer than did his father or grandfather. Hancock quickly demonstrated his horsemanship when he purchased Judger as a yearling from his father’s dispersal in 1972. The colt raced for Hancock and won the 1974 Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. And then came Secretariat, a colt bred by the Meadow Stud of Virginian Christopher Chenery, a longtime Claiborne client. While Chenery’s daughter, Penny Tweedy, was leading the family racing stable through the transition from father to daughter, homebred 2-year-old champion Secretariat appeared poised for greatness. Meadow Stud estate issues required a cash infusion. Hancock stepped up and syndicated the horse for $6 million, an astounding figure at the time.
In Hancock’s 40-plus years running the farm, he guided the operation through significant changes in the sport and in the industry. One was the creation of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984. Seth Hancock gave the program an important endorsement by signing up Claiborne to provide income from stallion seasons, a key source of Breeders’ Cup funding. Claiborne homebred Lure, a Hall of Famer, was twice a Breeders’ Cup winner for the farm.
Humphrey was born in Cleveland into a family with strong ties to Thoroughbred racing and breeding. His paternal grandfather, George M. Humphrey, was a prominent owner who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Humphrey raises his Thoroughbreds on the fringe of the famed Bluegrass region at his 1,000-acre Shawnee Farm near Harrodsburg, Ky., 30 miles southwest of Lexington. Humphrey’s racing stable has traditionally focused on fillies that have been channeled back to his breeding operation. Top runners for his stable have included Grade 1 winners Centre Court, Clear Mandate and Personal Diary, as well as multiple graded stakes winners Frivolous, Rey de Café and Communique. He has been the leading owner at Keeneland eight times and ranks sixth all time there with 146 wins. Together with his wife, Sally, 1980 Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk was bred and raised at Shawnee Farm. In 1985, Creme Fraiche added the Belmont Stakes to Humphrey’s list of accomplishments.
Widener (1871-1943) was the second son of transportation and real estate magnate Peter A. B. Widener. The Philadelphia-born Widener studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. In 1901, at the age of 30, Widener made a significant commitment to compete both in flat and jump racing. He was elected to The Jockey Club in 1909 and later served the organization as a steward and vice chairman. Widener bred and owned steeplechase immortals Fairmount and Bushranger, both Hall of Fame members. He also bred flat champions Polynesian (1945 Preakness winner), Stagehand, and Valenciennes. His steeplechase horses won three editions of the American Grand National: Relluf (1914), Arc Light (1929) and Bushranger (1936). Widener bred a total of 79 stakes winners.
Following the death of August Belmont II in 1924, Widener purchased Belmont’s stallion Fair Play (leading sire in 1927 for the third time) for his Elmendorf Farm breeding operation. He also purchased a son of Fair Play named Chance Shot, who went on to win the 1927 Belmont Stakes. Widener won the Belmont twice more with homebreds Hurryoff (1933) and Peace Chance (1934), the latter a son of Chance Shot. As part of the dispersal of the Belmont estate, Widener also acquired majority control of Belmont Park and became president of the Westchester Racing Association. He was a strong advocate for the adoption of pari-mutuel wagering, which debuted in New York in 1940.
