Drivers Challenge at Saratoga Casino Harness Track Earns $48K for Charity

SARATOGA SPRINGS — More than $48,000, split between two charities, was raised during a driving challenge at the Saratoga Casino Hotel’s harness track last Sunday.

The point-based competition pitted Veterans (Mark Beckwith, Wally Hennessey, Jim Devaux and Chris Long) against Young Guns (Brett Beckwith, Jacob Cutting, Mitchell Cushing and Matthew Athearn) to fundraise for national charities benefitting harness racing and the horses, both youthful and retired.

The Veterans team competed on behalf of the Purple Haze Standardbred Adoption Program, which retrains and rehomes harness horses after their racing careers are over. The Young Guns represented the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, which helps kids learn about harness racing through summer camps and other activities.

The event was the brainchild of track photographer Jessica Hallett, who credited her mom with supplying “a ton of help.” Hallett told Saratoga TODAY that “over 150 donations came in to support the charities” and that overall the event was “a huge success.”

“Everything about this event was geared towards my belief in what presents the true nature of harness racing,” Hallett said in a press release. “From including the next generation, to tying in the historic value of the sport, from showing how the industry comes together to support one another, to raising money for two wonderful charities, and from helping our horses find careers after racing to showcasing a couple of Standardbreds and their versatility. It’s all about the horses and horsemen, all about the sport, and I couldn’t be prouder to have Saratoga represent these two great charities.”