THE HAMBLETONIAN IS A WORLD OF COLORS

Paint for the tractor, a tobacco company's trademark and a tradition
passed from father to son – these are some of the reasons that the
winners of harness racing's most prestigious event, the Hambletonian,
wear their distinctive colors. Colors, unlike jockey silks, are
usually registered to the driver or trainer, not the owner. There
are prominent exceptions. When Stanley Dancer won his fourth
Hambletonian in 1983 with Duenna, it was while wearing the silver,
red and blue of Norman Woolworth's Clearview Stable instead of his
own distinctive blue and gold. The late Devlin Miller once wore his
high school's green and white colors but switched to brown and gold
to match the Camel cigarettes logo, in honor of his prominent owner,
W. N. Reynolds of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Oddly enough,
Miller's colors reached the winner's circle twice without him when
Harry Harvey wore them in 1953 with Helicopter and Jimmy Arthur in
1961 with Harlan Dean. Miller himself won the 1950 Hambletonian with
Lusty Song but was sporting the Hayes Fair Acre Stable colors. If the
colors of Ray Remmen, who won the first Hambletonian at the
Meadowlands in 1981 with Shiaway St Pat, are reminiscent of a
tractor, it is no coincidence. "We chose the colors green and yellow
because those were the colors for John Deere," recalled Remmen, a
native of Saskatchewan. "My father had a John Deere dealership and
green and yellow was the only paint we had available. They were also
my grandfather's [Hunter] colors. We took them from him." Three-time
winner Mike Lachance adopted his family colors of red, black and
white. "When I was 16 years old, I worked for a stable whose colors
were green and yellow," recalled Lachance, who won the Hambletonian
in 1994 with Victory Dream, 1996 with Continentalvictory and 1999
with Self Possessed. "For two years I raced with green and yellow
colors. In 1968 I came to the States and started racing at Batavia.
I registered my colors as red, black and white, and the lady who made
them also made the design." "As a kid I liked Ben Webster's colors,
and I admired the way he drove," said Ron Pierce, who won the 1993
edition wearing his red, white and blue colors. "My father's colors
were red, white and light blue. I decided to put my dark blue where
Ben's black and my father's light blue was. I almost changed my
colors to Sony Patterson's colors, I actually still might. Before I
could afford my own colors I drove in my father's colors, Dave
Elliott's colors [black, red, and gold] and Ernie Spruce's colors
[dark and light green]." No one has won more Hambletonians than John
Campbell – five – and each time he has worn his white, maroon and
blue. "They were my grandfather's color," Campbell said. "He wore
them back in the 1940's. I don't know why he chose them. I added
diamonds to them and originally the color was an off white, and I
changed it to white." Campbell's first winner was Mack Lobell [1987]
and followed with Armbro Goal [1988], Harmonious [1990], Tagliabue
[1995] and Muscles Yankee [1998]. While the National Trotting Club
first addressed the subject of driving colors in 1871, it was not
until 1950 that the Grand Circuit introduced the registration of
driving colors, making it easier for judges, race callers and
spectators to follow the races. Now the United States Trotting
Association maintains the registry to make sure that each set is
unique. Originally there were only 65 designs and 10 colors from
which to select but now nearly any color and design will be
accepted. The switch from street clothes to racing gear evolved in
the early 1920s. The coats resembled smoking jackets of the era. In
the 1950s, the shorter jacket, known as the Eisenhower jacket,
matched with white pants became the standard. One-piece jumpsuits
are the contemporary choice. A protective helmet, many of which are
custom painted, has replaced the soft hat. Safety vests are required
wear in the state of New Jersey. This year, Colors of the
Hambletonian is the theme for the 77th edition of the stakes. A
limited edition commemorative poster featuring all of the driving
colors worn since the race's inception in 1926 will be distributed on
August 2 at the Meadowlands and past Hambletonian drivers will be
available to autograph them. The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of
Fame in Goshen, New York, has filled four trophy cases with trophies,
colors and other memorabilia that will remain on display at the
Meadowlands through August 3. Oleg Cassini, one of the most
influential fashion designers of the 20th century, will judge the
Colors of the Future contest, sponsored by the Meadowlands Racetrack
and Hambletonian Society. The judging of designs submitted by
students from the Fashion Institute of Technology [FIT] in New York
City, will take place on July 27. The sketches will be on display at
the Meadowlands during the Hambletonian Festival. The challenge to
the FIT students was to design the next wave of colors, testing their
imaginations. In addition to Cassini, the judging panel includes
Meadowlands driver Luc Ouellette, Star-Ledger fashion reporter Jen
Braun, New Jersey Monthly assistant editor Daria Meoli and FIT
fashion design professor Rosalba Emanuel-King.