Burgomeister - 1980
Burgomeister, owned by the estate of Peter Haughton and handled by his father, Billy Haughton, dramatically captured the 55th edition of the Hambletonian. With a field of 19 necessitating two divisions, the first event fea-tured a field of ten, and it was Final Score, handled by Bill Haughton’s son Tom, who scored a 1:563 win over Devil Hanover and Noble Hustle. In the next division, Bill Haughton drove Burgomeister to a win in 1:58 over Nevele Impulse and Thor Viking. The Hambo crowd made Burgomeister the logical and sentimental favorite, and he didn’t disappoint anyone, charging through the stretch to roll home a winner by almost three lengths. Devil Hanover and Noble Hustle followed the winner in the 1:563 mile. It was an emotional and exciting win in this final Hambletonian at DuQuoin, and a wonderful remembrance to a young man who had tragically lost his life in an automobile accident only months before. Peter Haughton had become a prominent force in the sport while still in his twenties, and his father’s Hambletonian win, with the colt he had owned and campaigned at two, was a fitting tribute.
Conditions limit the Hambletonian maximum field to 16 before splitting into eliminations. Bill Haughton won the last Hambletonian at DuQuoin, a record-tying fourth, and a victory overloaded with emotional significance. Burgomeister was co-owned by his son Peter, who at the age of 25 died tragically in an automobile accident at The Meadowlands earlier that year. For the second time in history, eliminations were required when 19 horses were entered. Tommy Haughton won the first elimination heat with Final Score, trained by his father, Bill. It was the first time that both the elimination heats were won by the same stable.
