{{Short description|American harness racing driver (1932–2000)}} {{Infobox horseracing personality | name =George Sholty | image = | caption = | image_size = | alt = | birth_name =George Franklin Sholty | birth_date =November 2, 1932 | birth_place =Logansport, Indiana, U.S. | death_date =December 14, 2000 | death_place =Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. | resting_place = | nickname = | occupation = {{hlist|Harness racing driver|horse trainer}} | sport=Harness racing | years_active =1950–1998 | career wins =2,934<ref name="ESPN (2000)"/> | career winnings =$20,777,666<ref name="ESPN (2000)"/> | race =American Trotting Classic (1961)<br>Yonkers Trot (1966)<br>Messenger Stakes (1966)<br>Little Brown Jug (1966), 1992)<br>Little Brown Jugette (1978, 1986)<br>Pacing Triple Crown (1966)<br>Yonkers Trot (1966)<br>Adios Pace (1968)<br>Prix d'Été (1970)<br>Old Oaken Bucket (1972)<br>Dexter Cup (1972)<br>Bronx Filly Pace (1978)<br>Colonial Trot (1978)<br>Meadowlands Pace (1979)<br>Hambletonian Stakes (1979)<br>Walnut Hall Cup (1983)<br>Breeders Crown 2YO Filly Trot (1984)<br>Breeders Crown 3YO Filly Trot (1987)<br>Hambletonian Oaks (1987)<br>Breeders Crown Open Mare Trot (1988) | horses=Romeo Hanover | honors =United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame (1985) }} '''George Sholty''' (November 2, 1932{{snd}}December 14, 2000) was an American harness racing driver and horse trainer.
==Early life and education== George Franklin Sholty was born in Logansport, Indiana, United States, in 1932.<ref name="Harness Museum">{{cite web|title=GEORGE SHOLTY|website=harnessmuseum.com|url=https://harnessmuseum.com/content/george-sholty|access-date=April 19, 2026}}</ref>
He was the son of Ruth Packard and George Sholty.<ref name="Descendants of Nathan E. Grosvenor and Laura Fuller, 1794-1973 (with His Ancestry), Removed from Mansfield, Conn. to Claridon, O. in 1854/55. (1973)">{{cite book|last=Grosvenor|first=Jeannette|title=Descendants of Nathan E. Grosvenor and Laura Fuller, 1794–1973 (with His Ancestry), Removed from Mansfield, Conn. to Claridon, O. in 1854/55|publisher=Baker Print. Company|date=1973|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Descendants_of_Nathan_E_Grosvenor_and_La/NEtPAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=George+Sholty&dq=George+Sholty&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-05-27|page=}}</ref> He grew up in a harness racing family, with his grandfather, father, and great-uncle all active in the sport.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)">{{cite news|title=Pint-Sized George Sholty Does Giant-Sized Job in Sulky|newspaper=The Jersey Journal|date=January 5, 1967|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1192202266/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
He stood 5 feet 2 inches high and played basketball in his youth as a guard and the co-captain of the county champion team.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)"/> He graduated from Washington Township High School in Logansport.<ref name="The Noblesville Ledger. (1976)">{{cite news|title=Hoosier George Sholty Is A Giant In Sulky|newspaper=The Noblesville Ledger|date=August 25, 1976|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/353803874/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
==Career== His uncle gifted him a trotter named George Jr. in 1950 when he was 17. He began racing at Logansport, with his first success coming in 1951.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)"/> That year at 18 years old, he won his first harness race with George Jr. at the Clinton County Fairgrounds track in Frankfort, Indiana.<ref name="The Pharos-Tribune. (1962)">{{cite news|title=George Sholty Having Big Year In Harness Racing At Eastern Track|newspaper=The Pharos-Tribune|date=May 27, 1962|page=10|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/38937/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
During his first seven years as a reinsman, Sholty recorded only 26 victories and earned less than $16,000 in purses.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)"/> He worked under Gene Sears as second trainer and travelled with the stable across the regional racing circuit.<ref name="The Pharos-Tribune. (1962)"/>
In the summer of 1957, while working his second season under Tommy Winn, Sholty earned his first chance to compete at a major track. Driving for Tommy Winn and as a catch-driver, he recorded 40 victories. Entering the 1958 season, he established his own stable and led all drivers nationally with a .383 winning percentage.<ref name="The Pharos-Tribune. (1962)"/>
After competing in Indiana, he eventually earned a role as second trainer in Chicago. Impressed with Sholty's handling, retired investor Faye Ross funded the $20,000 purchase of Air Record and gave Sholty a 50 percent share as incentive. He drove the mare from 1960 through 1962, winning $265,439.<ref name="Democrat and Chronicle. (1965)">{{cite news|title=A Long Way Back. . . To the Dime Store|first=George|last=Beahon|newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle|date=August 13, 1965|page=29|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/136524193/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
While racing on the East Coast of the United States in the 1960s, he established himself as a top reinsman with repeated driving titles at Yonkers Raceway and Roosevelt Raceway.<ref name="ESPN (2000)">{{cite web|title=Horse Racing – Harness racing driver Sholty dies|website=espn.com|url=https://www.espn.com/horse/news/2000/1215/952345.html|access-date=2026-05-25}}</ref> In December 1965, he recorded his 1,000th career win.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)"/> During his 1966 season with Romeo Hanover, Sholty became the third driver to complete the Pacing Triple Crown.<ref name="UPI. (2000)">{{cite web|title=Harness driver Sholty dead at 68|website=upi.com|date=2000-12-15|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2000/12/15/Harness-driver-Sholty-dead-at-68/1933976856400/|access-date=2026-05-25}}</ref> By the end of that year, he had become the seventh driver ever to earn over $4 million in career purses.<ref name="The Jersey Journal. (1967)"/>
He later trained and drove Rivaltime, a two-year-old pacer purchased for $20,000 as a yearling. The colt raced for Warrior Stable and Septimus Farm and was partly owned by Wilt Chamberlain. In May 1964, a 2:05 victory at Liberty Bell Park Racetrack brought Sholty and Chamberlain together in the winner's circle.<ref name="The Herald Statesman. (1964)">{{cite news|title=The 'Stilt' Joins Jack On Track|newspaper=The Herald Statesman|date=June 2, 1964|page=30|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/677896982/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty%20Rivaltime|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref> At the Old Glory Standardbred Sales at Yonkers Raceway in October 1967, he purchased Rivaltime, then five years old, for $40,000.<ref name="The Herald Statesman. (1967)">{{cite news|title=YR Sales: Records Set, Sholty Acquires Rivaltime|newspaper=The Herald Statesman|date=October 12, 1967|page=26|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/678143305/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty%20Rivaltime|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
He campaigned Florida Pro for Al Lippe of Great Neck as both trainer and regular driver, winning nine of the colt's 13 starts at age two.<ref name="Bradley, J. (1997)">{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=John|title=Modern Trotting Sire Lines|publisher=The Russell Meerdink Company Ltd.|date=1997|isbn=978-0-929346-47-2|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Modern_Trotting_Sire_Lines/4M4UALo2fGQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=George+Sholty&pg=PA116&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-05-27|page=116}}</ref> In the 1978 Hambletonian Stakes, he guided Florida Pro to victory in the second heat against Speedy Somolli, but was defeated in the third and deciding heat.<ref name="Hoffman, D. A. (2001)">{{cite book|last=Hoffman|first=Dean A.|title=Quest for Excellence: Hanover Shoe Farms' First 75 Years|publisher=The Russell Meerdink Company Ltd.|date=2001|isbn=978-0-929346-74-8|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Quest_for_Excellence/SCOO9d6hdIQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=George+Sholty&pg=PA151&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-05-27|page=151}}</ref>
He won the 54th Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats with Legend Hanover in 1979.<ref name="Harness Museum"/> It was his first Hambletonian victory.
He joined Castleton Farm in 1984 as its contract trainer and driver.<ref name="YouTube. (2024)">{{cite web|title=1984 Red Mile Lexington GEORGE SHOLTY-John Henderson|website=youtube.com|date=2024-03-06|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLKGwYL-Vng|access-date=2026-05-25}}</ref> Sholty trained and drove Conifer who won the Breeders Crown 2-year-old filly trot in 1984.<ref name="Harness Museum"/> He also trained and piloted Gentle Stroke to a heat win in the 1984 Hambletonian Stakes.<ref name="Harness Museum"/>
On July 29, 1985, he guided Express Ride to win his first million-dollar race, the Peter Haughton Memorial.<ref name="Harness Museum"/> Sholty prepared Express Ride for the 1985 Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands in his final major race as Castleton Farm's contract trainer, while John Campbell served as driver.<ref name="Hambletonian. (2019)">{{cite web|title=Express Ride|website=hambletonian.com|date=2019-06-20|url=https://www.hambletonian.com/1985/expressride2ct|access-date=2026-05-30}}</ref> By October 1985, he had resigned from Castleton Farm and was replaced by Dan Shetler.<ref name="Chicago Tribune. (1985)">{{cite web|last=Tribune|first=Chicago|title=CHICAGO TRAINER LANDS `ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME` JOB|website=chicagotribune.com|date=1985-10-10|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/10/10/chicago-trainer-lands-once-in-a-lifetime-job/|access-date=2026-05-30}}</ref>
While working for the Armstrong Brothers, he drove and trained Armbro Fling, a daughter of Speedy Crown. He guided the trotter to victory in the 1987 Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Trot.<ref name="Hambletonian. (2020)">{{cite web|title=2020 Breeders Crown Media Guide|website=hambletonian.com|date=2025-10-24|url=https://www.hambletonian.com/breeders-crown-media-guide-2020|access-date=2026-05-25}}</ref>
He captured his second win in the Little Brown Jug as trainer of Fake Left on September 24, 1992.<ref name="Lexington Herald-Leader. (2000)">{{cite news|title='Horses a constant' for Hall of Famer|newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=December 16, 2000|page=44|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/693550379/?match=1&terms=George%20Sholty|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
The veteran driver-trainer retired in 1998 at the age of 66 after compiling 2,934 career wins and over $20 million in purses.<ref name="Harness Museum"/>
==Death== George Sholty died on December 14, 2000, in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, at 68.<ref name="Harness Museum"/>
==Legacy== Sholty became the 34th inductee to the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1985.<ref name="Harness Museum"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sholty, George}} Category:1932 births Category:2000 deaths Category:American harness racing drivers Category:American horse trainers Category:United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Logansport, Indiana Category:20th-century American sportsmen