Ralph N. Baldwin

Ralph Baldwin (February 25 , 1916 – September 26, 1982) was a Canadian-born harness racing driver and horse trainer.

Early life and education Ralph N. Baldwin was born on February 25, 1916, in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada.

As the son of Homer Baldwin, who owned trotters in Canada, he took up driving at 15. In 1933, the high school student won his first harness race at Dufferin Park Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Career Early in his racing career, Baldwin raced at state and county fairs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. The young trainer emerged as a nationally recognized figure in the early 1940s, largely through his association with the pacer

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946 as a combat infantryman, earning two Bronze Stars and three European Theater battle stars. He was deployed in France, Germany, and Belgium.

Beginning in 1948, Baldwin established himself as the leading reinsman in the Horseman Futurity at the annual Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. He won the event in both 1948 (Egan Hanover) and 1949 (Bangaway) while driving for Saunders Mills. He also won the 1949 Horseman Futurity for three-year-old pacers with Stormyway. His first Hambletonian Stakes eligible was Egan Hanover, who finished third in 1948.

Two Gaits Farm With the McNamara stable's move onto the Grand Circuit, he went back to Two Gaits.

Baldwin captured the Horseman Futurity with Scotch Rhythm (1951), Nimble Colby (1956), Hoot Song (1957), and Sandalwood (1958) while with Two Gaits.

He trained four successive winners of the Matron Stake for three-year-old trotters at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Missouri: Nimble Colby (1956), Hoot Song (1957), Sandalwood (1958), and Diller Hanover (1959).

In the 1957 Hambletonian Stakes at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, he guided Hoot Song, owned by Two Gaits Farm, to a runner-up finish. He handled the training of Diller Hanover and Tie Silk in 1959 and chose Tie Silk for the Hambletonian drive, finishing second, while Frank Ervin drove Diller Hanover to victory. The following year, he trained Quick Song and Carlene Hanover and opted to drive the filly, with Quick Song taking runner-up honors.

Following the withdrawal of Two Gaits from competition, he moved into another role.

The Castleton Farm trainer-driver added Horseman Futurity wins with Quick Song (1960), Spectator (1961), Speedy Scot (1963), and Dartmouth (1964).

Speedy Scot He developed Speedy Scot, the farm's leading champion and winner of the 1963 Hambletonian. It was Baldwin's first Hambletonian on his 13th attempt. He secured a world-record 1:56 4/5 mile with Speedy Scot that year, followed by a sweep of the Trotting Triple Crown and recognition as trainer-driver of the 1963 Harness Horse of the Year. His success with Speedy Scot carried into 1964, when he became the first driver to win the Founder's Plate series at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York, a series requiring successive wins in the track's major stakes at ages two, three, and four. On September 12, 1964, Baldwin drove Speedy Scot to a 2:02.3 mile at Freehold Raceway, setting a new track record and earning a $1,000 bonus for the record breaking entry. Baldwin was sidelined for a month in a Lexington hospital after suffering a heart attack in September 1964, and upon discharge, his first visit was to Speedy Scot.

He secured a second Founder's Plate in 1965 following his victory in the $100,000 Realization Trot for four-year-olds with Dartmouth. He retired as trainer-driver for Castleton Farm. During his 11-year tenure at Castleton, he won 119 major stakes races.

Legacy His record included 10 victories across 17 years of the Horseman Futurity for three-year-old trotters, while no other driver had won it more than three times since its founding in 1907. Following his success with Speedy Scot, he was named 1963 Horseman of the Year through a ballot of readers of the Horseman & Fairworld.

In 1972, he became the 16th member to be inducted into the United States Harness Writers Association Living Hall of Fame.