{{Short description|American harness racing driver (1902–1979)}} {{Infobox horseracing personality | name =Harry Pownall | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name =Harry Eugene Pownall | birth_date =1902 | birth_place =Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | death_date =December 31, 1979 | death_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | resting_place = | nickname = | occupation = {{hlist|Harness racing driver}} | sport=Harness racing | years_active =1918-1970 | career wins = | career winnings = | race =Goldsmith Maid (1940)<br>Walnut Hall Cup (1940, 1946)<br>Coaching Club Trotting Oaks (1941, 1945)<br>Delaware Gazette (1944, 1949)<br>Hambletonian Stakes (1945)<br>Historic-Dickerson Cup (1946)<br>Greyhound Stake (1949)<br>Transylvania Trot (1960)<br>Dexter Cup (1961)<br>Yonkers Trot (1967)<ref name="Harness Horse Racing in the United States and Canada. (1951)"/> | horses=Florican<br>Star's Pride<br>Titan Hanover<br>Matastar | honors =United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame (1971) }} '''Harry Pownall''' (1902{{snd}}December 31, 1979) was an American harness racing driver and horse trainer.
==Early life and education== Harry Eugene Pownall was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in 1902.<ref name="Harness Museum">{{cite web|url=https://harnessmuseum.com/content/harry-pownall|title=HARRY POWNALL|website=harnessmuseum.com|access-date=2026-03-31}}</ref>
His father was Eugene Pownall, the son of Samuel Pownall. Harry's father and grandfather both owned horses. Harry attended Commercial High School in Brooklyn. He quit school in 1918 to train and race trotters. When his father died in 1926, the family relocated to Mineola, New York on Old Country Road.<ref name="Newsday (Nassau Edition). (1941)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/710629236/?match=1&terms=Harry%20Pownall|title=Profile of a Trotting Racer|newspaper=Newsday (Nassau Edition)|first=Stanton|last=Peckham|date=June 13, 1941|page=21|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref>
==Career== At age 16, he made his driving debut at Riverhead, New York, driving Billy Bunker for trainer Allie Cornwell.<ref name="Newsday (Nassau Edition). (1941)"/>
He maintained a public stable for several years, keeping horses for David Dows, Dows' son-in-law Cornelius Bliss Jr., the Reynolds family, and the Robins family. At the time, he served as the secretary of the now-defunct Nassau Driving Club of Mineola.<ref name="Newsday (Nassau Edition). (1941)"/> In September 1936, he drove all three winners at the Mineola Fair harness program: Mack Yerks, Hal Bee Laurel, and Joy Lincoln.<ref name="The New York Times. (1936)">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/23/archives/pownall-takes-3-events-drives-harness-racers-to-victory-in-eight.html|title=POWNALL TAKES 3 EVENTS; Drives Harness Racers to Victory In Eight Straight Heats|date=September 23, 1936|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref>
===Arden Homestead Stable=== The Brooklyn native went to work for E. Roland Harriman of Arden, New York.<ref name="Newsday (Nassau Edition). (1941)"/> He became associated with Arden Homestead Stable of Goshen in 1937, first as assistant trainer to William K. Dickerson.<ref name="Harness Museum"/>
Pownall annually placed among the top drivers on the Grand Circuit.<ref name="The Morning News. (1956)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/155426541/?match=1&terms=Harry%20Pownall|title=Arden Homestead String to Race Here|newspaper=The Morning News|date=August 23, 1956|page=30|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref> He placed second in Grand Circuit points in 1939 and third in 1940, a year when Arden Homestead was third in money won among stables. That year at Goshen, New York, he drove Florimel and won the third leg of the E. H. Harriman Cup. He also won the Walnut Hall Cup with Spud Hanover.<ref name="Newsday (Nassau Edition). (1941)"/> He won the Coaching Club Trotting Oaks for three-year-old fillies in 1941 with Florimel and in 1945 with Beatrice Hanover.<ref name="Harness Horse Racing in the United States and Canada. (1951)">{{cite book|last=Wrensch|first=Frank Albert| title=Harness Horse Racing in the United States and Canada|publisher=Van Nostrand | date=1951|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Harness_Horse_Racing_in_the_United_State/mPhUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Harry+Pownall&pg=PA174&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-04-02 | page=}}</ref>
He began training Titan Hanover in 1943.<ref name="Harness Horse. (1990)">{{cite book|title=Harness Horse|date=1990|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Harness_Horse/twcPAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Harry%2520Pownall|access-date=2026-04-02|page=}}</ref> During the 1944 season, he notably campaigned the two-year-old to a world-record mile of 2:00, the first ever for the age group.<ref name="Sunday News. (1945)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/560337174/?terms=Harry%20Pownall&match=1|title=Titan Hanover Choice In Hambletoniana|newspaper=Sunday News|date=August 5, 1945|page=13|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref> He captured the 1944 Delaware Gazette, a two-year-old trot at the Delaware County Fairgrounds racetrack, with Titan Hanover.<ref name="Harness Horse Racing in the United States and Canada. (1951)"/> In 1945, Pownall guided Titan Hanover to a win in the Hambletonian Stakes at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack.<ref name="Harness Museum"/> At age 42, he was among the youngest reinsmen to receive the coveted prize.<ref name="Sunday News. (1945)"/>
Pownall was appointed as the head Arden Homestead trainer-driver in 1947,<ref name="Harness Museum"/> succeeding W. K. Dickerson.<ref name="American Harness Racing. (1948)">{{cite book|last=Hervey|first=John|title=American Harness Racing|publisher=Hartenstein|date=1948|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/American_Harness_Racing/Z3FkAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Harry+Pownall&pg=PT4&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-04-02|page=}}</ref>
With Star's Pride, he won his second Delaware Gazette in 1949,<ref name="Harness Horse Racing in the United States and Canada. (1951)"/> and in 1952 Pownall drove him to a 1:57 1/5 mile, setting a world record for trotters.<ref name="The Morning News. (1956)"/> In 1952, he drove Hit Song to victory in the Old Oaken Bucket for three-year-old colts in 2:05.<ref name="Little Brown Jug">{{cite web|url=https://www.littlebrownjug.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Old-Oaken-Bucket-2022.pdf|title=Old Oaken Bucket (3CT) - Little Brown Jug|date=2022|website=littlebrownjug.com|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref>
In the early 1960s, the veteran trainer guided Matastar, a son of Star's Pride, bred and owned by Arden Homestead.<ref name="Lexington Herald-Leader. (1962)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/684523841/?match=1&terms=harry%20pownall|title=Matastar Fails To Break Record But Timely Beauty Sets 2-Y-O Mark|last=White|first=Tom|newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=October 16, 1962|page=9|access-date=2026-04-05}}</ref> He drove Matastar to a world record time of 1:55 4/5 in October 1962 at The Red Mile in Lexington.<ref name="Reader's Digest Almanac. (1966)">{{cite book|title=Reader's Digest Almanac|publisher=Readers' Digest Association|date=1966|url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Reader_s_Digest_Almanac/5rrpAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Harry+Pownall&dq=Harry+Pownall&printsec=frontcover|access-date=2026-04-02|page=}}</ref> The mile was the second-fastest ever recorded in harness racing, next to Greyhound's 1:55 4/5 in 1938. The record broke the previous record of 1:57 1/5 set by Matastar's sire, Star's Pride and Pownall in 1952.<ref name="Staten Island Advance. (1962)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1114016288/?match=1&terms=harry%20pownall|title=Trotter Scores 2nd Fastest Mile|newspaper=Staten Island Advance|date=October 10, 1962|page=27|access-date=2026-04-05}}</ref> By 1962, he was the only trainer credited with four trotters achieving 1:58 or faster miles. Along with Matastar, they included Star's Pride (1:57 1/5), Florican (1:57 2/5), and Titan Hanover (1:58).<ref name="Lexington Herald-Leader. (1962)"/>
During the 1963 Hambletonian, Pownall drove Florican to a record-setting first-heat victory over Speedy Scot. The upset surprised the harness racing world and marked the stallion's first loss, though Florican failed to win the next two heats.<ref name="The Miami Herald. (1968)">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/621466933/?match=1&terms=Harry%20Pownall%20Sr.|title=Past Ties Sulky Vet To Future|first=Alan|last=Prince|newspaper=The Miami Herald|date=March 6, 1968|page=61|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref>
In 1967, he tied Tom Berry with his 22nd Hambletonian start, and by 1968, he was called the "dean of Hambletonian drivers" after surpassing Berry in total heats driven. 1969 marked his 50th anniversary in the sulky.<ref name="The Miami Herald. (1968)"/>
He was succeeded in 1970 by Ralph N. Baldwin as Arden Homestead Stable's head trainer-driver.<ref name="The New York Times. (1972)">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/13/archives/harness-writers-will-cite-baldwin-simpson-tonight.html|title=Harness Writers Will Cite Baldwin, Simpson Tonight|date=February 13, 1972|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref>
==Death== Pownall died on December 31, 1979, in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, at 77 years old.<ref name="The New York Times. (1980)">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/01/03/archives/harry-e-pownall-harness-driver-77-hall-of-fame-member-competed-at.html|title=HARRY E. POWNALL, HARNESS DRIVER, 77; Hall of Fame Member Competed at New York Area Tracks Set Record in 1944|date=January 3, 1980|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2026-04-02}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pownall, Harry}} Category:1902 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American harness racing drivers Category:American horse trainers Category:United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sportspeople from Brooklyn Category:20th-century American sportsmen