Harlan Dean - 1961
The Hambletonian and world trotting record was again lowered this year, with Harlan Dean trotting two nearly perfect miles to capture the stake. Jimmy Arthur, an assistant in the powerful Delvin Miller stable, got the driving assignment from Miller on Harlan Dean and Arthur showed his talents as well. The field was a good one, perhaps the best ever to start in a Hambletonian up to that point. It included not only Harlan Dean, but the very fast Hoot Mon colt, Caleb, Matastar, and the beautifully gaited Spectator, handled by Ralph Baldwin. There was precedent for Miller to give up the drive on the eventual winner. In 1953, Miller had his young assistant Harry Harvey handle the reins on Helicopter, and Harvey ushered the filly to victory. Likewise, Miller handed the assignment to Jimmy Arthur for Harlan Dean on the eve of the race. Harlan Dean raced for his breeder, Max Hempt, later a president of the Hambletonian Society, and one of the leading breeders in the sport. He was co-owned by Miller and Ray Cleveland. The first heat in 1:582 was a new stake and world mark for three-year- old trotters.
For the second time, one of Delvin Miller's assistants drove the winning part of the entry. (Miller asssistant Harry Harvey drove Helicopter in 1953). Three-year-old World Record of 1:58.2. Harlan Dean was voted 3-year-old Trotter of the Year. The Trotting Horse Club of America was dissolved and the stakes which it sponsored, including what is now the Historic Series, the Tompkins Memorial, the Geers Stakes, the Matron and the American-Nationals, were assumed by the Hambletonian Society. Founded in 1927, the Trotting Horse Club of America, an association of breeders, was instrumental in the growth of stakes and futurity racing in the sport, resuscitated the Grand Circuit, acquired the Register and the Year Book, and created the U.S.T.A. and the Hall of Fame of the Trotter. It also sponsored John Hervey's monumental 1947 book, The American Trotter.
