The members of the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association are proud to announce that Ben Webster and Patsy C. Rapone will be installed in the Upstate New York Harness Racing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2011 representing Batavia Downs. Webster and the family of Rapone will be presented their Empire Pinnacle Crystal Awards to mark the occasion, trackside on Saturday, September 10th at Batavia Downs Casino.
Ben Webster is a home grown Western New York racing legend. He lived in Hilton, NY and got his first driving win at the age of 16 at the Hemlock Fair; both a mere 25 miles from Batavia Downs. But that incipient stage of his development would later see a 47 year career unfold on the biggest stages of the sport as Webster would go on to win the Hambletonian, the Little Brown Jug and the Kentucky Futurity.
Webster, AKA “The Master of the Half-Mile” and “Benny the Whip”, would win his first pari-mutuel race at Buffalo Raceway in 1958. He competed on the Western New York circuit until 1965 when he decided to relocate at Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceway. Webster joined what many believe was the greatest driver colony ever, competing against legends like Billy Haughton, Carmine Abbatiello, Buddy Gilmour, Del Insko and John Chapman.
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