Harness racing will return to The Meadows Racetrack and Casino on Wednesday as the racing community gathers to honor a driver killed in an accident on the track.
The racetrack has been closed since March 19, when Hunter Myers was driving Always B Royalty in the 11th race and was thrown from the bike as driver Dave Palone made a move to the front with his horse, Uptown Callie.
The move, according to the Daily Racing Form, triggered a chain-reaction spill involving six horses, but all the other drivers walked away with minor injuries. Myers, 27, suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at Allegheny General Hospital.
The Meadows, in North Strabane, Washington County, will pay tribute to Myers before the first race, when horsemen will walk over to the winners’ circle, accompanying a driverless horse and members of the Myers family. Racing fans are encouraged to join the drivers on the track at 12:15 p.m.
A presentation with videos and photos will be played followed by a prayer and moment of silence, said Matthew Heiskell, vice president and general manager of the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows. Mr. Heiskell said plans for a more permanent memorial in Myers’ honor on the racetrack property are in the works.
“Once finalized, these will be announced at a celebration of life to be scheduled in the near future,” he said.
The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association will also hold a fundraising raffle to help support Myers’ family. Myers, of Williamsport, Ohio, leaves behind a fiancee, Chloe, and 7-month-old son, Hayden.
In a statement last week, the MSOA and officials at the Meadows said Myers was a “rising star” in the racing industry. His death was a shock to the harness racing community nationwide and it was the first racing death at the Meadows, which opened in 1963.
Dan Leary, director of marketing and communications for the U.S. Trotting Association, described it as “a freak accident” that was “extremely rare.” In 2024, Myers was caught up in a three-horse accident at the Meadows, but wasn’t injured. Race officials said there have been fewer than five deaths in standardbred racing since 1980.
Myers, who comes from a racing family, had amassed 2,450 career victories in just under 11 years, and the MSOA described him as "a loyal, funny, generous friend to the legions in American harness racing who knew him.”
Myers drove in seven races on March 18, the day before the accident, at MGM Northfield Park, his home track outside of Cleveland, winning one and taking third in another before making the trek to the Meadows. He was ranked fourth in wins at both the Meadows and at Northfield Park.
Northfield held a memorial for Myers before its first race Sunday and will also rename its Iron Maiden Series as the Hunter Myers Memorial Series.
“The Meadows racing community, and the entire harness racing industry, are deeply saddened by this tragic event,” the MSOA said in a Facebook post.
First Published: March 25, 2025, 10:21 p.m.
Updated: March 26, 2025, 1:26 p.m.
