Be a winner and preserve the history of harness racing

Goshen — The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame will kick off its 2006 Restoration Drawing on Monday, May 1. The annual event provides funding for artifact conservation. Projects that have been completed, with the help of more than $35,000 brought in since 1995, include the treatment of horse drawn vehicles such as the circa 1860 Hambletonian skeleton wagon, and the circa 1900 Dan Patch sleigh. Funds have also provided for the restoration of historic paintings by Edward Troye and Lawrence Palmer, as well as numerous Currier & Ives lithographs, and driver’s silks. The list is growing, but to date, prizes offered in this year’s drawing include a one week stay at a vacation home in Bethany Beach, Del.; dinner for two at the CIBO restaurant in Manhattan; four tickets to a New York Giants home game (date determined by donor); cases of wine; and harness track gift certificates from around the country. Raffle ticket entry forms will be available from the museum on Monday, May 1, and winners will be drawn on Hall of Fame Day, Sunday, July 2. For those who cannot get to the museum for forms, write to hrm@frontiernet.net or Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 590, Goshen NY 10924. Post office regulations require that no purchase is necessary to participate, but contributions will support the museum’s efforts to preserve the history of the American-born sport of harness racing. The museum, at 240 Main Street in Goshen, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To contribute an item for the raffle, call 294-6330 or visit www.harnessmuseum.com.