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The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

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Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

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SC Picture Project / Aiken County / Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

Aiken is known as the “Horse Capital of the South” in much part due to New York financier William C. Whitney, who brought polo to the city in the late nineteenth century. Whitney helped establish the Aiken Winter Colony for the Northern elite who traveled south for to play polo and buy and sell thoroughbreds.

Thoroughbred Hall Of Fame

Larry Gleason of Aiken, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Aiken’s status as “America’s Polo Capital” spawned horse racing as well. In 1977 Whitney’s great-grandson Whitney Tower, horse racing editor and writer for Sports Illustrated, worked with the city and local Jaycees to create the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.

Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

Larry Gleason of Aiken, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Hall of Fame is located within Hopelands Gardens, named for Hope Goodard Iselin of Rhode Island. Hope’s husband, C. Oliver Iselin, bought the property in 1897 for a winter home. Prior to that, the grounds were farmland.

Thoroughbred Hall of Fame Rear

Jean Doepkens Wright of Doswell, VA, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The photo at the top of the page shows two horse statues flanking a doorway. The statues are part of a joint project between the Aiken Center for the Arts and the United Way of Aiken County created as a fundraiser for local arts programs. Eleven sponsored horses painted by selected artists can be found throughout the Aiken area. Below is a close-up of Stonerside, one of the two horse statues currently flanking the entrance to the Hall of Fame.

Stonerside

Melissa Roberts of Barnwell, 2011 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Plan Your Trip: Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

Where is Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame located?
Address: 135 Dupree Place, Aiken, SC 29801
GPS Coordinates: 33.547829,-81.722805
Website: http://www.aikenracinghalloffame.com/
What else should I see?
Hopelands Gardens 0.1 mile
Rye Patch 0.2 mile
Fermata Club 0.4 mile
Coker Spring 0.4 mile
Show me more like this!
  • Aiken Historic Sites
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    Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame Map

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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