SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its 1950 founding with numerous special exhibitions, a variety of signature events, and expanded programming throughout 2025.
Special exhibitions include Laying the Foundation: The Architecture of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (now open in the Museum’s Link Gallery), which explores how the Museum has evolved since its establishment. Major additions included the West Wing in 1957, the Walter M. Jeffords Memorial Wing in 1960, the George D. Widener Memorial Wing in 1978, and the Paul Mellon Wing in 2000. Additional exhibitions will be announced in the spring and open in June.
The Museum will celebrate the upcoming Triple Crown series with events for the Kentucky Derby, 150th Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course for the second consecutive year. The Museum’s Derby events culminate with the 9th Annual Derby Party on May 3. The Museum’s Belmont plans include the unveiling of a mural and opening of its summer exhibitions on June 3, a Belmont-themed Bites and Brews event on June 6, Saturday Morning Social on Belmont Day June 7, and a Family Fun Fest on Sunday, June 8. More information on these events will be coming soon on the Museum’s website racingmuseum.org. Tickets for the Derby party are available here: https://1049a.blackbaudhosting.com/1049a/9th-Annual-Derby-Party-Fundraiser
The traditional Saratoga summer season will include the Hall of Fame induction ceremony (Friday, Aug. 1 at Fasig-Tipton) as part of an expanded Hall of Fame Weekend; Saturday Morning Social programs every week from July 5 through Aug. 30; Drop-In Children’s Programs from July 16 through Aug. 27; Racing and Rosé Fashion Show (July 19); book signing weekends (July 26 and 27 and Aug. 16 and 17); Partnership and Syndicate Event (Aug. 9), Casino Night to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund and the Museum (Aug. 18); McBean Gallery Curator’s Tour (Aug. 19); and Travers Eve Wine and Cheese (Aug. 23), among other events.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating the rich 75-year history of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame with vibrant new exhibitions and exciting events and programing,” said Cate Masterson, the Museum’s director. “This is a great opportunity to recognize our roots in the sport and also showcase how we’ve advanced as an institution while maintaining our core principals of preserving and honoring the great history of American racing.”
The Museum’s 75th anniversary marketing campaign is supported through a Market New York grant awarded by Empire State Development and I LOVE NY, New York State’s Division of Tourism. The Museum’s 75th anniversary celebration is being sponsored in part by Saratoga County and Churchill Downs Incorporated.
Led by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, a group of people prominent within the sport of thoroughbred racing founded the National Museum of Racing in 1950. The Museum’s location of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., home of the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in America, proved to be an ideal setting. On Aug. 6, 1951, amid a great deal of fanfare, the Museum made its public debut in a temporary location at the Canfield Casino in Congress Park.
“The long-range purpose,” Whitney said at the opening in the famous old casino, originally opened by Saratoga racing founder John Morrissey in 1870, “is to build a permanent home for the important memorabilia for the sport whose beginnings in this country antedate by 100 years or more the United States of America.”
Joining Whitney in the founding group that signed the charter for the Museum were Carleton F. Burke, Kenneth K. Burke, John C. Clark, Nelson Dunstan, Donald P. Ross, F. Skiddy von Stade, John Hay Whitney, and George D. Widener, Jr. Also recognized as organizers of the Museum were Francis Dorsey, Spencer Eddy, Howell E. Jackson, Walter M. Jeffords, Robert F. Kelley, Paul Kerr, Addison Mallery, Denis Mansfield, Dr. Charles H. Strub, and Bryce Wing.
The Museum moved to its permanent home on Union Avenue in 1955 and inducted its first Hall of Fame class that year. For more information about the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, including upcoming events, please visit www.racingmuseum.org or call (518)
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