NEWS
Timely Writer, Handy among 2008 New England hall of fame class
Posted: Sunday, June 15, 2008 5:48 PM
The New England Turf Writers Association has elected multiple Grade 1 winner Timely Writer, trainer George Handy, and track announcer Jim Hannon to its hall of fame class of 2008.
The three inductees will be honored, along with the New England Turf Writers Association award winners, at the 66th annual awards dinner on Monday at the Danversport Yacht Club in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Timely Writer, won nine of 15 career starts, including four Grade 1 victories, in two racing seasons for owners Francis and Peter Martin. In 1982, Timely Writer won the Flamingo Stakes (G1) and Florida Derby (G1) for trainer Dominic F. Imprescia. He was deemed a New England champion as a two- and three-year-old.
By Staff Writer out of the Sette Bello mare Timely Roman, Timely Writer was one of the leading contenders for the ’82 Kentucky Derby (G1) before his classic chances were derailed by a bout with colic and subsequent surgery.
Timely Writer won the Hopeful (G1) and Champagne (G1) Stakes as a juvenile.
Handy began training professionally in 1946 and still maintains a string of horses at Suffolk Downs.
Handy, 84, won his first leading trainer title at Suffolk in 1956 and led the standing four times in the 1960s. Among Handy’s top career victories was a win in the 1981 Illinois Derby (G3) with Paristo, who finished third that year in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
Handy served as a private trainer for prominent owner Francis McDonnell. Handy and McDonnell were honored by the New England Turf Writers Association with the Lou Smith Award for contributions to New England racing in 2001.
Hannon served as the voice of racing in New England for nearly 40 years. He began his career at Scarborough Downs in 1954 and was the race caller at Delaware Park and Beulah Park in the 1960s.
Hannon came back to New England in 1965 and has served as track announcer at Narragansett Park, Suffolk Downs, and Rockingham Park. He retired from calling races in 1993.
